The panel suggested simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls.
Published Mar 14, 2024 | 1:44 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 14, 2024 | 4:11 PM
Ram Nath Kovind submitting the report to the President. (X)
A high-level committee on Thursday, 14 March, recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
In its report submitted to President Droupadi Murmu that ran into over 18,000 pages, the panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind said simultaneous polls will spur development process and social cohesion, deepen foundations of the democratic rubric and help realise aspirations of “India, that is Bharat”.
The panel further suggested synchronised polls for all three tiers of government to improve governance architecture, in line with the quest for aspirational India.
Kovind panel also emphasised that the simultaneous polls will significantly enhance the transparency, inclusivity, ease and confidence of voters.
The panel recommends holding simultaneous elections to the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies as a first step.
In the second step, the elections to Municipalities and Panchayats will be synchronised with the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies so that they are held within 100 days of the elections of the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies.
For the purpose of synchronization of elections to the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies, the Committee recommends that the President of India may, by notification, issued on the date of the first sitting of the House of the People after a general election, bring into force the provision of this article, and that date of the notification shall be called the appointed date.
And the tenure of all State Legislative Assemblies, constituted by elections to the Assemblies after the appointed date and before the expiry of the full term of the House of the People, shall be only for the period ending up to the subsequent General election to the House of the People
“Now, several elections are being held every year. This casts a huge burden on the government, businesses, workers, courts, political parties, candidates contesting elections, and civil society at large,” the panel said.
It said the government must develop a “legally tenable mechanism” to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections.
The Committee recommends amendments to Articles 324 and 325 to hold simultaneous elections for local bodies.
The report suggests, “Amendments to the Constitution need to be ratified by the States only to hold simultaneous elections for local bodies, not for holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies”.
The Committee recommends introducing Article 324A to enable simultaneous elections in Panchayats and Municipalities, along with the General Elections of the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies.
Amendment in Article 325 to enable Single Electoral Roll and Single Elector’s Photo Identity Card, which shall be prepared by the ECI in consultation with the State Election Commissions. The same will substitute any other electoral roll prepared by the ECI under Article 325 or State ECs under Articles 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution.
The panel recommended that the Election Commission of India, in consultation with state election authorities, prepare a common electoral roll and voter ID cards.
The panel also recommended advance planning for equipment, manpower, and security forces to hold simultaneous polls.
An amendment to Article 325 is required to enable a Single Electoral Roll and a Single Elector’s Photo Identity Card, which the ECI shall prepare in consultation with the State Election Commissions. These will substitute any other electoral roll prepared by the ECI under Article 325 or State ECs under Articles 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution.
The Committee recommends that in the event of a hung House, no-confidence motion, or any such event, fresh elections may be held to constitute the new House.
Where fresh elections are held for the House of the People, its tenure will be only for the unexpired term of the immediately preceding full term, and the expiration of this period shall operate as a dissolution of the House.
Where fresh elections are held for the State Legislative Assemblies, the new Legislative Assembly, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue until the end of the full term of the House of the People.
A Constitution Amendment Bill must be introduced in the Parliament, amending Article 83 (Duration of Houses of Parliament) and Article 172 (Duration of State Legislatures). This Constitutional Amendment will not need ratification by the States.
Since these amendments touch upon State subjects of Schedule VII, Pat IX, and Part IX A of the Constitution, ratification by the States will be required under Article 368(2).
However, implementing step one, simultaneous elections to the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies, does not necessitate ratification by the States.
Currently, the ECI is responsible for Lok Sabha and assembly polls, while state election commissions manage local body polls for municipalities and panchayats.
An official statement said the committee crafted its recommendations in such a way that they are in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution and would require bare minimum amendments to the Constitution.
When they submitted the report to the president at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kovind was accompanied by other panel members, including Home Minister Amit Shah, former Finance Commission chairman N K Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash Kashyap, former leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
A statement said the report is the outcome of extensive consultations with stakeholders and experts and research work that has lasted 191 days since its constitution on 2 September 2023.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been supporting the idea of simultaneous polls, saying the concept of “one nation, one election” is imperative to make the country great.
(With PTI inputs)
