Hyderabad: The Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to table two bills on 'One Nation, One Election' in the Lok Sabha on Monday to enable simultaneous elections to both the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies amidst opposition from constituent parties of the INDIA Bloc led by Congress.
While the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment) Bill 2024 pertains to synchronising elections to state assemblies with that of the Lok Sabha, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024 seeks to align assembly elections in the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and New Delhi along with the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in states.
What do these bills propose?
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment) Bill proposes to insert a new Article 82A into the Constitution to make provision for holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies besides amending Articles 83 and 172 to determine the tenures of the Lok Sabha and the state legislatures respectively.
The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill proposes to make consequential amendments to section 5 of the Union Territories Act 1963, section 5 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act 1991, and section 17 of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 to align assembly elections of Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir along with the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies
What will happen after the bills are passed?
The new Article (82A) provides that after the enactment of the Bill, the President of India will issue a notification on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election, and that date of the notification will be called the appointed date.
The tenure of the Lok Sabha will be five years from that appointed date. The tenure of all Legislative Assemblies, constituted by any elections after the appointed date and before the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha, shall come to an end on the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha. Thereafter, all general elections to the Lok Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies shall be held together simultaneously.
For example, if the date of the first sitting of the current Lok Sabha, June 24 is considered as the appointed date, then the first simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies will be held in June 2029. The tenures of Legislative Assemblies that expire after June 2024 and before June 2029 will however continue till June 2029.
What if the Lok Sabha or an assembly is dissolved?
In case of dissolution of the Lok Sabha or a Legislative Assembly sooner than their full term, there will be a midterm election. However, the tenure of the new Lok Sabha or the assembly constituted through midterm election will be for the unexpired term of the Lok Sabha or the assembly. The period between its date of dissolution and five years from the date of the first meeting dissolved Lok Sabha or the assembly is the unexpired term.
For example, if the Lok Sabha or any state assembly is dissolved post the 2029 general elections, a midterm election will be held and the tenure of the new house constituted through midterm election will be till June 2034 and not five years from the midterm election.
Can election to any state assembly be deferred?
The Election Commission of India can defer elections to any Legislative Assembly through a recommendation to the President in case it feels that the election to a particular Legislative Assembly cannot be conducted along with the general elections.
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