New Delhi: A day after the central government announced its decision to set up a panel under former president Ram Nath Kovind to examine the feasibility of ‘One Nation, One Election’, the union law ministry Saturday notified the eight-member high level committee (HLC).
The ‘One Nation, One Election’ theory aims for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, to be held on the same day or over a stipulated period.
Others on the committee are Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former chief minister of J&K Ghulam Nabi Azad, former chairman of finance commission N.K. Singh, former secretary general of Lok Sabha and constitutional expert Subhash C. Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve, and former chief vigilance commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, will attend the meetings of the HLC as a special invitee. According to the notification, the committee will submit its recommendations at the earliest, though no time frame has been mentioned.
The government has also called for a special Parliament session in September. However, it hasn’t been disclosed yet if the government intends to take up the ‘One Nation, One Election’ in this session.
“…elections to the House of the People and Legislative Assemblies of States were mostly held simultaneously from 1951-52 to 1967 after which this cycle got broken and now, elections are held almost every year…which result in massive expenditure by the Government and other stakeholders, diversion of security forces and other electoral officers engaged in such elections from their primary duties for significantly prolonged periods, disruption in developmental work on account of prolonged application of model code of conduct. etc,” it read.
Quoting from the Law Commission’s 170th report on Reforms of the Electoral Laws, it said the panel [also] advocated holding simultaneous central and state polls.
“This cycle of elections every year…should be put an end to. We must…go back to the situation where the election: to Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies are held at once… holding of a separate election to legislative assembly should be an exception and not the rule. The rule ought to be ‘one election once in five years for Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies,” the notification cited the Law Commission’s report as saying.
The Law Commission report also referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, which, in its 79th report on ‘Feasibility of Holding Simultaneous Election to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and State Legislative Assemblies’, too had examined the matter and in its report in December 2015, recommended an alternative and practical method of holding simultaneous elections in two phases, said the notification.
“…in view of the above and that in the national interest it is desirable to have simultaneous elections in the country, the Government of India hereby constitutes a High Level Committee. Hereinafter referred to as HLC to examine the issue of simultaneous elections and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country,” it added.
In its 2014 poll manifesto, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had committed to “initiate electoral reforms to eliminate criminals [candidates with criminal records]”. In 2019, PM Narendra Modi had called an all-party meeting to discuss the ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea, but many opposition leaders had given it a skip, as was widely reported by the media.
Also read: Vajpayee said PMs and parties will come & go but nation will remain, says Gadkari
What the panel will do
According to the terms and reference of the HLC, it will examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, municipalities and panchayats, keeping in view the existing framework under the Constitution of India and other statutory provisions.
It will also examine and recommend amendments to the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and any other law or rules which would require amendments for the purpose of holding simultaneous elections.
The committee will also examine and recommend possible solutions in a scenario of simultaneous elections emerging out of a hung House, adoption of no-confidence motion, or defection or any such other event.
The committee will also look into the possible framework for synchronisation of elections and suggest the phases and time frame within which simultaneous polls may be held. It will also suggest necessary safeguards for ensuring the continuity of the cycle of simultaneous elections and recommend necessary amendments to the Constitution so that the cycle is not disturbed.
Apart from drawing out modalities for use of a single electoral roll and electoral identity cards for identification of voters in elections, the committee will also examine the logistics and manpower required, including the equipment, for holding simultaneous elections.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: BJP’s ‘last-minute’ pivot to keep Rajasthan camps at bay — Nadda, Shah to flag off Parivartan Yatra