NEW DELHI — The ruling BJP on Thursday took a major step to implement its key
plank of "one nation, one election" as the Union Cabinet headed by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the constitutional amendment bill to roll
out the concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, sources
said.
Two draft legislations, including one simple bill to
amend provisions in laws dealing with three Union territories with legislative
assemblies to align them with the Constitution amendment bill, were given the
nod by the Cabinet.
While a high-level committee led by former president Ram
Nath Kovind on simultaneous polls had also proposed holding the municipality
and panchayat elections along with the national and state elections in a phased
manner, the Cabinet has decided to stay away, "as of now", from the
manner in which local body elections are conducted, the sources said.
A source said the prime minister put a strong emphasis on
the need for simultaneous polls for further boosting development initiatives and
overall growth, points he has often made since he first made an energetic pitch
for the concept in December 2016.
The proposed bill will require a simple majority for
passage in both the Houses. The government is keen on holding wider
consultations on the bills and may send them to a parliamentary committee.
The BJP's manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls had
included its commitment to the idea.
Though BJP's allies such as the TDP, Janata Dal (United),
and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), all of whom are represented in the Union
Cabinet, are supporting the concept, the National Democratic Alliance will need
backing from some of the members of the opposition INDIA alliance besides
fence-sitters to ensure the passage of the constitutional amendment bill
requiring support from two-thirds of the members in both Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha.
The NDA's current strength in Lok Sabha, which currently
has 542 members and one vacancy, is around 293 against the two-third mark of
361. The INDIA bloc enjoys support of nearly 235 MPs.
In Rajya Sabha, the ruling alliance has nearly 122
members, a tally which is set to rise after the ongoing process to fill
vacancies are over. The Upper House' sanctioned strength is 243.
LJP leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan told
reporters that the process to implement simultaneous polls has formally begun,
a nod to its approval by the Cabinet, asserting that this is in the interest of
the country's development.
Frequent polls are a hinderance to development works, he
added.
Union minister and BJP leader Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a
media event that it is a "very positive thought" and very good for
the country. However, he made no reference to the Cabinet's approval of the
bill.
As of now, the Cabinet has given its nod to draft
legislations to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and legislative
assemblies only, the sources said.
The Constitution bill proposed by the Kovind panel was
aimed at creating provisions to hold simultaneous elections to municipalities
and panchayats, along with the elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative
assemblies, by inserting a new Article 324A.
It would have required ratification by half of the state
assemblies. But the Union Cabinet has kept the local body polls out as of now.
The second bill, a necessary formality to go with the
main draft legislation, will be an ordinary one to amend provisions in three
laws dealing with Union territories that have legislative assemblies --
Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
The statutes it proposes to amend are the Government of
National Capital Territory of Delhi Act-1991, the Government of Union
Territories Act-1963 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act-2019.
The sources said the government also wants to consult the
speakers of various state legislative assemblies through the committee.
The government is likely to introduce the bills early
next week in Lok Sabha, and the draft legislation for constitution amendment
could be named as "The Constitution 129 (Amendment) Bill", the
sources said.
Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke on the bill, which was
not part of the listed agenda, during the Cabinet meeting.
Since a single electoral roll is used by the Election
Commission to hold Lok Sabha and assembly polls, the proposed bill does not
refer to a common electoral roll.
A common electoral roll was proposed by the Kovind panel
to hold Lok Sabha, assembly and local body polls together.
Since the Cabinet decided not to bring a bill to hold
local body polls with parliamentary and assembly polls, there is no need to
amend constitution at this stage to go for a common voters' list, they noted.
The BJP ally JD(U) had earlier demanded to not include
local body polls as part of the simultaneous elections.
Moving ahead with its "one nation, one
election" plan, the government in September had accepted the
recommendations of the high-level committee for holding simultaneous polls for
the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner.
In its report submitted to the government in March, just
before the general election was announced, the panel recommended implementing
"one nation, one election" in two phases.
While the ruling BJP and its allies are pushing for
simultaneous polls, several opposition parties have opposed the idea.
The government is of the view that simultaneous polls
will reduce expenditure in the long run and different parts of the country will
not be under the Model Code of Conduct throughout the year due to various
polls.
Simultaneous polls were held in the country between 1951
and 1967. The concept of simultaneous elections has featured in many reports
and studies since 1983, essentially implying a return to the previous practice
of conducting polls concurrently.
