Hyderabad: The Narendra Modi Cabinet has finally approved the Ram Nath Kovind committee's report on 'one nation, one election', which is not a new concept in the country. Simultaneous polls were earlier held in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967. The disruption in this cycle first took place in 1970 when some Assemblies were prematurely dissolved and Lok Sabha itself was dissolved early.
After India became independent, the country's first election cycle began in 1951-52, covering both the House of People and State Assemblies simultaneously, which continued till 1967. Because of the dissolution of some Legislative Assemblies in 1968 and 1969, the simultaneous election cycle was broken. Later, in 1970, the Lok Sabha was dissolved. Since then, there were no simultaneous elections in the country.
The concept of ‘One Nation, One Poll’ emerged in the 1980s. In 1983, the Election Commission suggested simultaneous polls. The Justice B P Jeevan Reddy-headed Law Commission report said in May 1999 supported simultaneous polls.
Vajpayee Initiated the Issue
In 2003, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took up the issue with Congress but it did not move forward. In 2010, BJP leader LK Advani observed that, due to lack of simultaneous polls, the country witnessed a “mini-general election” every alternate year, which "is not good for the health of our polity.” Later, in 2014, the BJP made a promise in its Lok Sabha election manifesto to develop a method for conducting simultaneous polls. In 2015, a parliamentary committee led by RS member Nachiappan also batted for simultaneous polls.
Constitutional Requirements Needed
In April 2018, a working paper by the Law Commission stated that at least “five Constitutional recommendations” are necessary to implement one nation, one election. In June 2019, the government held a meeting with political parties to discuss ‘one nation, one election’. In 2020, PM Modi spoke in favour of simultaneous polls across the nation. In 2022, the then Chief Election Commissioner said the EC is capable of conducting simultaneous elections.
Subsequent Steps Taken by Modi Government
01.09.2023: The government formed a panel headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of 'One Nation One Election'.
14.03.2024: Ram Nath Kovind panel submitted report on 'one nation, one poll' to President Droupadi Murmu.
15.08.2024: During his Independence Day speech, PM Modi urged people to come together for One Nation One Election legislation, saying that frequent polls were obstructing the country's progress.
Law Commission's Take on One Nation One Election
In 2015, the Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice recommended simultaneous elections. In 2018, at an an all-party meeting held by the Law Commission, some political parties supported the simultaneous polls, some opposed, others remained neutral. In December 2022, the 22nd Law Commission of India formulated a set of six questions including the one on the feasibility of conducting simultaneous polls. The final report of the commission is yet to come out.
PM Narendra Modi's special interest
In 2016, PM Narendra Modi proposed the idea of bringing back simultaneous polls. In 2017, PM Modi talked about conducting a feasibility study on the concept. In June 2019, on the eve of the first session of the new Lok Sabha, PM Modi invited heads of all parties to discuss the “one nation, one election” issue. Majority opposition parties skipped the meeting. In 2020, PM Modi said elections being held at different places every few months is hampering the developmental work. In January 2022, he raised the issue again on National Voters’ Day.
- Article 83 which deals with the duration of Houses of Parliament.
- Article 85 deals dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President.
- Article 172 related to duration of state legislatures.
- Article 174 related to dissolution of state assemblies.
- Article 356 President’s Rule in the state.
- Article 324 – Powers of the Election Commission.
- The Representation of People Act, 1951 would have to be amended to build in provisions for stability of tenure for both parliament and assemblies.
Countries Conducting Simultaneous Elections
Sweden stands as a prime example of harmonised elections. In the Scandinavian nation, county and municipal council elections align seamlessly with the general elections (Riksdag elections), taking place every four years. The electoral system employs proportional representation, where parties secure seats in proportion to their vote share.
South Africa employs a synchronised election system. National assembly, municipal council, and provincial legislative elections occur simultaneously every five years. Embracing a 'party-list proportional representation,' the nation allocates seats based on parties' vote percentages. The National Assembly consists of 400 seats, while Provincial Legislatures adapt seat counts based on population distribution among nine provinces.
Indonesia, in 2019, amended its constitution to synchronise legislative and presidential elections every five years. Following a number of provisions being deemed unconstitutional, Indonesia made amendments to its constitutions that resulted in legislative and presidential elections now taking place every five years.
Belgium's Federal Parliament elections coincide with European Parliament elections, both held every five years. This coordinated approach ensures a unified electoral process, promoting voter engagement and administrative efficiency.
In Germany, a similar doctrine is observed in its Constitution that came into effect in 1949. As per the current prevalent system, Germany's Bundestag (Lower House) cannot simply remove its chancellor by confirmation of a no-confidence motion. The opposition must not only disagree with his/her governance but also agree upon a replacement.
In Italy, citizens simultaneously cast their votes for the 630-member lower chamber, known as the Camera dei Deuptati, and the 315 member Senate, known as the Camera del Senato. Philippines, Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Guatemala have embraced simultaneous elections within their presidential systems.
Looking at the American Perspective
In America, the election day is fixed. After every 4 years, the first Tuesday, falling after the first Monday, in the month of November, is the election date. This applies to the office of the President and Vice President of the United States of America. Like, the days for holding elections for the House of Representatives, and the Senate are also fixed. This is done between the 2nd and the 8th of November. This has been fixed statutorily, i.e. it has been fixed by a law.
In India, such a concept is not possible because of the Parliamentary form of government. Thus, one solution that can be put forward is India adopting a Presidential form of Government
Merits of Simultaneous Elections
'-Costly Elections-'
When the first elections to the Lok Sabha took place in 1951-52, 53 parties contested the elections, around 1874 candidates participated and poll expenses were 11 crore. According to the Private think tank the centre for Media studies (CMS) claimed that Rs 60,000 crores were spent on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections making it the most expensive elections in India's Election history. Estimating that Rs 700 per vote was spent in the 2019 elections, it said that on an average, nearly Rs 100 crore has been spent per seat this time.
The central government had spent about ₹ 4,000 crore in 2018-19 on procurement of EVMs for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The 2009 Lok Sabha elections had cost the exchequer about Rs 1,115 crore, and the 2014 elections, about Rs 3,870 crore, according to a NITI Aayog report. The Law Commission of India estimated the cost of buying enough EVMs would be to the tune of Rs 4,500 crore “ in the long run, this cost will even out, say those pro-ONE NATION ONE ELECTION (On a different note the 2019 election spending is roughly $8.5 billion. The combined presidential and Congressional election in the US in 2016 was $6.5 billion.)
'-Time Saving-'
Conducting elections throughout the year is a mammoth, complex and time-consuming activity. Thus, the Election Commission of India requires assistance of a significant number of polling officials as well as armed forces to ensure smooth, peaceful and impartial polls. One-time election will also save a lot of time along with money. Also, the security forces will be used for better internal purposes.
'-Efficiency of Governance-'
If elections are not conducted annually then the government need not to woo general public through lucrative schemes and make caste and religion based programmes. Even State and Central Government will not prepare lucrative budget every year and they can take tough decisions for the actual betterment of the economy.
'-Voter turnout will increase-'
A single election exercise will be less cumbersome. Voter turnout will increase and it will be an added icing on the cake if results are not effected from any elections took place few month before . People will vote with great enthusiasm if elections were organized in such a manner. When we accept that we have to hold elections simultaneously once in 5 years, then this would not be a festival, but it would be a grand festival, or a “Maha Utsav”. The entire administrative machinery of the Election Commission of India, the paramilitary forces, civilians, administrative officials, besides the political parties and candidates would have to be geared up for this mammoth exercise after a gap of 5 years. Besides the coherence in the electoral process, this would bring about governance, and the voters can judge the policies and programmes of the governments-both at the State level and at the Central level.
Help curb black money and corruption-Once the elections are held, it will help curb black money and corruption. Because black money is used openly during elections. Help to maintain social unity and peace -Repeated elections give politicians and parties a chance to disrupt social unity and peace. An atmosphere of needless tension is created.
One time electoral duty: By holding elections together, there will be no need to repeatedly put government employees and security forces on electoral duty. With this, they will be able to complete their work properly.
Argument Against One Nation, One Election
'-Against Spirit of Democracy-'
Critics also say that forcing simultaneous elections is against democracy because trying to force an artificial cycle of elections and restricting the choice for voters is not correct.
Spending: Spending of money in a single election will not be stopped. According to the Law Commission, if the 2019 elections were conducted through this system, it would have required Rs 4500 crore to buy a new EVM. In order to conduct all elections simultaneously for the second time in 2024, it would cost Rs 1751.17 crore to replace the old EVM (15 years lifetime). 2017.93 crore in 2029 and in the fourth election i.e. 2034, this expenditure will be Rs 13981.58 crore.
What will happen if the government falls: The Constitution does not have a fixed tenure of the Lok Sabha or the state legislatures. Extending the term of the Lok Sabha or the legislatures is not constitutional. What if a government falls prematurely? 7 out of 16 Lok Sabha have been dissolved ahead of time.
The Central Government has the right to dissolve the State Governments under Article 356. Notwithstanding this right, elections cannot be held simultaneously.
National vs Regional Issues: Voters can vote on national issues even in assembly elections. Large national parties can benefit from this. Regional parties may suffer losses. Most of the countries where this system is in force have presidential governments.
Regional Parties At Disadvantage: Regional parties are supposed to be at a disadvantage because in simultaneously held elections, voters are reportedly likely to predominantly vote one way, giving the dominant party at the Centre an advantage.
Logistics and Sufficient Manpower demand: There are the logistics including the deployment of security forces and officials in 700,000 polling stations located across geographic and climatic conditions. It would be difficult, but certainly not impossible for the Election Commission of India to hold this exercise once in 5 years. In the recent Lok Sabha elections of 2019, in terms of the number of manning officers, around 2,60,000 paramilitary forces were employed by the Government of India.
Besides this, 10,00,000 police officers were pressed into service all across States. There were also more than 10,00,000 polling booths across the country. Thus, if each polling station is being manned by around 4 people, along with 1 BLO (Booth Level Officer), making it a total of 5 people, we arrive at a figure of around 1 crore people involved in the process of conducting elections ( paramilitary forces, civilians, administrative officers, and others being engaged). So, if you are holding the elections for all the assemblies and the Lok Sabha at one go (once in 5 years), one can save and optimize costs.
