Introduction
The Bill of One Nation and One Election was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, by law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. For years, this idea has been proposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and finally it has been introduced in the parliament to implement the bill.
The bill faced a strong objection from the opposition INDIA bloc, considering it unconstitutional and sabotaging India’s federal system. The bill was favored by 269 members, and 198 opposed it. A two-thirds majority was required (i.e., 307) out of a total of 461 votes. The government failed to gain the majority support. Even though the government has the larger number of members favoring the bill, a total of two-thirds of votes are required to pass it.
Source- The Hindu
What is one nation, one election?
The bill proposes to conduct the elections of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies simultaneously, which occur at different intervals now. It was done considering the reduction in cost of doing elections. While the implementation of the One Nation, One Election bill is not feasible, it requires certain amendments in the Constitution, such as changing the tenure and the time of dissolution of the Lok Sabha and synchronizing it with the tenure of State Assemblies.
The bill also introduces a new Article 82A in the Constitution, which lays the foundation for conducting simultaneous elections. If the State Assembly or the Lok Sabha is dissolved before the tenure, fresh elections will be held. However, the newly constituted House or Assembly will operate its workings only for the remaining unexpired time. This is done to ensure that the elections for both the Lok Sabha and State Assembly fall simultaneously. The government argues that the bill addresses the present challenge that the electoral system faces of multiple elections at the state and national levels.
History of one nation, one election
The years 1951-1952 and 1962-1967 faced simultaneous elections similar to the concept of one nation, one election. The concept was abolished due to the premature dissolution of some state assemblies.
While the bill promises cost savings, higher voter turnout, efficient use of resources, and administrative efficiency, it poses several disadvantages, such as it is very difficult to implement it at a place with such a diversity. Most of the time the people may get confused between the national and state-level politics, and people may prioritize the national issues over the state issues, which could weaken the local government. It may be disadvantageous for the regional politics as the national parties with more money and resources might dominate, making it hard for the regional parties to compete.
The very first time the concept of one nation, one election was introduced was after India’s independence. The question arises whether the shortcomings encountered in the past will be effectively addressed to prevent recurrence or if history will repeat itself, culminating in the same inevitable deadlock as before.
