 "Ram Nath Kovind-led panel hands report on 'one nation, one poll' to President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday")
Ram Nath Kovind-led panel hands report on ‘one nation, one poll’ to President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday. (Photo: ANI)
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday accepted former President Ram Nath Kovind-led panel’s recommendations on simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and the local bodies in a phased manner.
The government said it would build a country-wide consensus on the issue before bringing a Bill to Parliament.
Briefing reporters on the Cabinet decisions, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government will constitute an implementation group to take forward the recommendations of the panel and build consensus across the country over the next few months.
Vaishnaw, however, was evasive on whether the government would bring the Bill in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament. He pointed to Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that the government would implement it in its current tenure.
Once the consultation process is over, the government will draft a Bill, place it before the Cabinet, and subsequently, take it to Parliament for simultaneous polls to come into effect, he added.
The country’s youth support the simultaneous polls, Vaishnaw claimed, stressing that most of the 47 parties that sent their feedback to the Kovind panel supported the “one nation, one election” proposal.
In its report submitted to the government in March, just before the general election was announced, the panel recommended implementing “one nation, one election” in two phases – simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in the first phase and elections for local bodies like panchayats and municipal bodies within 100 days of the general election in the second phase.
It also recommended a common electoral roll, which would need coordination between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the state election commissions.
The panel has recommended a total of 18 constitutional amendments, most of which will not need ratification by the state Assemblies. However, it would require certain constitutional amendment Bills that would have to be passed by Parliament. Some proposed changes regarding the single electoral roll and single voter ID card would need ratification by at least half of the states.
Separately, the Law Commission is also likely to recommend holding simultaneous polls for all three tiers of the government – the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, and local bodies like municipalities and panchayats – starting 2029 and a provision for a unity government in cases like a hung house.
The INDIA bloc parties opposed the Cabinet’s decision, with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders describing it as a ploy to distract from real issues, such as unemployment and price rise.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the plan of simultaneous polls was Sangh Parivar’s clandestine agenda to impose presidential mode and weaken India’s federal polity. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and other parties criticised the Centre for the move, asserting that it could not hold voting in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana together but intends to conduct simultaneous polls.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said that civic body polls in Maharashtra had been pending for over two years and the BJP was scared of holding the elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Kovind panel for the report. In a post on X, Modi described it as an important step towards making India’s democracy “even more vibrant and participative.”
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien termed it a “cheap stunt”.
The Kovind panel had sought feedback from 62 parties, of which 47 responded. Among these, 32 parties supported it and 15 opposed it. Of the 32 parties, most of which are allies of the BJP in states or are smaller parties, 19 have no representation in the current Lok Sabha. Of the parties that did not respond, the Janata Dal (Secular), the Rashtriya Lok Dal, and the Telugu Desam Party have said they support the proposal.
In the 18th Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance lacks the numbers to ensure the passage of constitutional amendments that the passage of a Bill on simultaneous polls would require.
First Published: Sep 18 2024 | 8:29 PM IST
