With Prime Minister Narendra Modi marking his first 100 days of his third consecutive term in office on September 17, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by him is gearing up to roll out the ‘One Nation, One Election’ agenda before the end of its current term. This major electoral reform, a key objective for the BJP, has seen repeated endorsements from Modi. In his Independence Day address this year, Modi had urged political parties to unite in backing the ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative. Although the BJP won 240 seats in the latest elections — short of the 272 required for a solo majority — the government is hopeful of gaining sufficient cross-party support for this agenda within its current term.
According to the government, a simultaneous election will bring the country out of the endless cycle of elections, which leads to a wastage of resources and money. The concept of simultaneous elections was also a prominent pledge in the BJP’s election manifesto. ‘One Nation, One Election’ seeks to simplify the electoral process by synchronising national and state elections. Proponents argue that this approach will diminish the frequent electoral cycles that currently disrupt Indian politics and impede effective governance. So far, some allies of the NDA have expressed their support to the government on this move. If implemented, regional issues that crop up during local polls might get overshadowed by the national issues.
The push for ‘One Nation, One Election’ gained significant momentum following the submission of a report by a panel headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind in March this year. The committee, which presented its findings to President Droupadi Murmu, strongly supported the concept of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days. For this, changes would be required in the Constitution and other legal frameworks. A Constitution Amendment Bill will have to be introduced in Parliament amending Article 83 (Duration of Houses of Parliament) and Article 172 (Duration of State Legislatures). This Constitutional Amendment will not seed ratification by the states.
Moreover, in another move, the government has initiated preparations for the decadal census although a decision on whether to include a caste column in the survey has not yet been made. India has been conducting a census every decade since 1881. The first phase of this decade’s census was slated to start on April 1, 2020, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act, passed by Parliament last year, is also tied to the decadal census. This law, which reserves one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, will take effect only after delimitation is carried out based on the data from the first census conducted post-enactment of the Act.
