ONOE gets Cabinet nod

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved legislation to implement “One Nation, One Election” for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner. The two draft bills are likely to be introduced in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sources said the Cabinet has approved two bills, including one to amend the Constitution to implement “One Nation, One Election”. The sources said: “As of now, the Cabinet has given its nod to draft legislation to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies only.”

A high-level committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind had also proposed holding municipal and panchayat polls along with the national and state elections in a phased manner, but the Cabinet has decided to stay away, “as of now”, from the manner in which local body polls arre held.

The Constitution amendment bill to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies will not require ratification by at least 50 per cent of states, the sources said.

Another Constitution bill proposed by the Kovind panel was aimed at creating provisions to hold simultaneous elections to municipalities and panchayats, along with the elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, by inserting a new Article 324A. It would have required ratification by half of the state Assemblies. But the Union Cabinet has kept the plan for simultaneous local body polls out as of now.

The second bill will be an ordinary one to amend provisions in three laws dealing with Union territories that have Legislative Assemblies -- Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir -- to align the terms of these Houses with other Legislative Assemblies and the Lok Sabha as proposed in the Constitution amendment bill.

The statutes it proposes to amend are the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act 1991, the Government of Union Territories Act 1963 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019. The proposed bill will be ordinary legislation not requiring a change in the Constitution and will also not need ratification by the states.

The government is keen on holding wider consultations on bills that are likely to be referred to a parliamentary committee. The sources said that the government also wants to consult the Speakers of various Legislative Assemblies through the committee.

In September, the government had accepted the high-level panel’s recommendations for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner.

In its report submitted to the government in March, just before the general election was announced, the panel had recommended implementing “One Nation, One Election” in two phases. While the ruling BJP and its allies are pushing for simultaneous polls, several Opposition parties have opposed the idea.

The government is of the view that simultaneous polls will reduce expenditure in the long run and different parts of the country will not be under the Model Code of Conduct throughout the year due to various polls.

Simultaneous polls were held in the country between 1951 and 1967. The concept of simultaneous elections has featured in many reports and studies since 1983, essentially implying a return to the previous practice of conducting polls concurrently.