Why in news?
The government introduced two Bills in the Lok Sabha to enable simultaneous elections: The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill.
Constitution Amendment Bill aims to synchronize the terms of the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. On the other hand, the Consequential Amendment Bill aims to amend relevant laws for Union Territories and Delhi to facilitate simultaneous polls.
These bills were passed for introduction with 269 votes in favor and 198 against. The bill will now be sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
A high-level committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind had earlier recommended simultaneous elections.
What’s in today’s article?
- Key Takeaways from the Bills
- Proposed Amendments in the One Nation, One Election Bills
- Proposed Amendments to Lok Sabha’s Term and Dissolution
- Proposed Amendments for State Assemblies
- The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024
Key Takeaways from the Bills
- Scope of Simultaneous Polls
- Applies only to Parliament and state Assemblies, excluding municipal corporations.
- Timeline for Implementation
- Realistically, simultaneous polls may begin with the 2034 election cycle, assuming the 18th and 19th Lok Sabhas complete full five-year terms.
- The President will issue a notification on the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after the general election to implement the amendments.
- Mid-term Election Provisions
- The Bills include provisions for situations where mid-term elections might be required at the state or central level.
- Exclusion of Municipal Elections
- Municipal elections are excluded to avoid the need for ratification by at least half of the state legislatures, a more complex process.
Proposed Amendments in the One Nation, One Election Bills
- Alignment with High-Level Committee Recommendations
- The amendments are based on recommendations by the High-Level Committee on One Nation, One Election.
- The committee was chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted its report in March 2024.
- Key Features of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024
- Amendments and New Article
- Amendment of Three Articles: The Bill proposes changes to three existing articles of the Constitution.
- It amends Articles 83 (duration of Houses of Parliament), 172 (duration of state legislatures), and 327 (power of Parliament to make provisions with respect to elections to Legislatures).
- Insertion of Article 82A: A new provision (Article 82A, clauses 1-6) is introduced to enable simultaneous elections. This article is placed after Article 82, which pertains to delimitation.
- Provisions of Article 82A
- Timeline for Implementation - 82A (1)
- The President can notify the appointed date for the changes after the first sitting of the Lok Sabha following a general election.
- Curtailed Tenures for State Assemblies - 82A (2)
- Assemblies elected after the appointed date but before the Lok Sabha’s term ends will have their terms curtailed to align with the Lok Sabha’s full five-year term.
- Election Commission’s Role in Conducting Simultaneous Elections - 82A (3)
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) is tasked with conducting general elections for the Lok Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies simultaneously.
- Definition of Simultaneous Elections - 82A (4)
- Simultaneous elections are defined as “general elections held for constituting the House of the People and all the Legislative Assemblies together.”
- Exception Clause for Assembly Elections - 82A (5)
- The ECI may recommend postponing a particular Assembly election if it determines simultaneous elections are not feasible.
- The President can then issue an order for those elections to be conducted separately.
- Alignment of Deferred Elections - 82A (6)
- If an Assembly election is deferred, the term of that Assembly will still end with the full term of the Lok Sabha elected in the general election.
Proposed Amendments to Lok Sabha’s Term and Dissolution
- Changes to Article 83: Lok Sabha’s Term Adjustment
- Fixed Term with Flexibility: Article 83 prescribes a fixed five-year term for Lok Sabha unless dissolved earlier.
- New Clauses for Unexpired Terms: If Lok Sabha is dissolved before completing its full term, the next Lok Sabha will only serve the unexpired period of the original term.
- Example: If Lok Sabha is dissolved after 3 years and 2 months, the subsequent Lok Sabha will serve the remaining 22 months.
- Clarification on New House:
- The new Lok Sabha formed after a mid-term election will not be a continuation of the dissolved House.
- Pending Bills in the dissolved House will expire, as they do after a full term.
- Amendments to Article 327: Enabling Simultaneous Elections
- Article 327 gives Parliament the authority to legislate on matters related to elections, including electoral rolls and delimitation of constituencies.
- The amendment proposes adding “conduct of simultaneous elections” to this list.
- This ensures Parliament can make provisions to align elections for both Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures.
Proposed Amendments for State Assemblies - Changes to Article 172 (Duration of State Legislatures)
- Similar to Lok Sabha, state Assemblies’ terms will also align with the “unexpired term” provision.
- If a state Assembly is dissolved before its full term, elections will be conducted for the remaining term of the dissolved Assembly.
The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024
- Purpose of the Bill - Align Union Territories with the framework for simultaneous elections.
- This is because Union Territories are governed under a separate constitutional scheme that is different from states.
- Proposed Amendments
- Government of Union Territories Act, 1963: Adjustments to enable synchronized elections in Union Territories.
- Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991: Similar changes for Delhi.
- Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019: Amendments to include Jammu and Kashmir within the simultaneous election framework.
