The union cabinet on Wednesday approved the Narendra Modi government’s “one nation, one election” bid for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls by accepting the report of a high-level committee led by ex-President Ram Nath Kovind. The government has now appointed senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, and Arjun Meghwal to consult with political parties across the spectrum to build consensus.
Union minister for information and broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw after the cabinet meeting described the decision to adopt the report and go forth with a possible legislation on it as a “historic step”.
Sources said that the entire cabinet, including ministers from parties like TDP and JD(U), lauded the decision.
“This is indeed a much-needed, much sought-after, long-pending reform and it is only for the cause of the people,” Prime Minister Modi told colleagues in the meeting, sources said.
Several opposition leaders have called the push for simultaneous polls a desperate attempt to hang onto power. The Prime Minister is said to have told his cabinet colleagues that there is no need for anybody to look at it from the prism of politics. “This is not a politically motivated decision, nor is it for political benefit. It is to ensure that the welfare of the people takes centre stage”.
Despite the fact that the report submitted by the high-level panel is also in the public domain, there is need to have a wider consultation, especially to educate the common man about the merits of this legislation, the PM reportedly advised his cabinet colleagues.
Sources also indicated that the government is not in a hurry to bring this legislation into Parliament as being speculated through various quarters. It wants to open up a wider consultation so that various stakeholders, especially the common man, can also further give their opinions. “Consultations and meetings with various stakeholders and seminars across the country will be held,” Vaishnaw said in the cabinet briefing.
Since the government will be bringing amendments to the Constitution to get this legislation passed, the entire focus will be on consensus, the sources said. “Multiple numbers at multiple levels will be made to get consensus on the issue from political parties to legal representatives to the common man,” they added.
As and when the bill will be brought in Parliament for introduction and passage, it will have to be passed by a two-thirds majority, as there will be a constitutional amendment. With the majority in the Lok Sabha and a good number of MPs in the Rajya Sabha, the NDA is confident of passing this legislation.
The government also highlighted that:
- Elections were held simultaneously between 1951 and 1967.
- Law Commission 170th report (1999): One election to Lok Sabha and all legislative assemblies in five years.
- Parliamentary Committee 79th Report (2015): Suggest methods for simultaneous elections in two phases.
- The committee chaired by Kovind extensively consulted a broad spectrum of stakeholders including political parties and experts.
- The report is available online at: https://onoe.gov.in
- Extensive feedback has shown there is widespread support for simultaneous elections in the country.
Recommendations and the way forward as listed by the government include:
- Implement in two phases.
- In the first phase conduct Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously.
- In the second phase conduct local body elections (panchayat and municipalities) within 100 days of general elections.
- Common electoral rolls for all elections.
- Will initiate detailed discussions throughout the country.
- Constitute an implementation group.
The adoption of the report by the cabinet is just the first step. Once the draft of the bill is prepared, it will be brought to the cabinet for approval. After the approval of the cabinet, the bill will be brought to Parliament for passage. Once Parliament has passed the bill, rules will be notified for its implementation.
The implementation is also a multilevel process. A common voter list will have to be prepared for both the central and assembly elections. Also in some places, delimitation needs to be done and the deployment of forces, etc, will also have to be discussed in detail.
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