One Nation One Election

Also called: Simultaneous elections · Topic: Electoral Reforms: Money, Criminalisation and Simultaneous Elections · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"

Meaning

One Nation, One Election (ONOE), or simultaneous elections, means electing the Lok Sabha and all state Legislative Assemblies at the same time. The voter casts both votes on the same day or in the same phase. The wider version of the idea also adds local body polls soon after. India held its polls this way from 1951 to 1967. The idea matters now because the Kovind High-Level Committee recommended it in 2024. The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 was then introduced to bring it about, and it is still with a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Explanation

What it is, and what it is not

• Same time, separate votes: it does not mean one vote. The voter still casts one vote for the MP and another for the MLA.
• Three levels in the wider idea:
• Lok Sabha (run by the Election Commission of India, ECI, under Art. 324)
• state Legislative Assemblies (also run by the ECI)

• local bodies: panchayats (Part IX) and municipalities (Part IXA). The State Election Commissions (SECs) run these polls under Arts. 243K and 243ZA, not the ECI.

• Why the cycle broke:

• 1968-69: several assemblies were dissolved early, after the unstable coalition governments that followed 1967.
• December 1970: the Lok Sabha was dissolved early, so the general election came a year early, in 1971.

• Art. 356 dismissals: under President's rule (the Union takes over a state's government when the Governor reports that it cannot be run as the Constitution requires), many assemblies were dissolved before their terms ended.

• Result today: some major election happens almost every year. Each one brings its own Model Code of Conduct (MCC). This is the ECI's code of behaviour for parties and governments. While it is in force, governments cannot announce new schemes.

The Kovind Committee's plan (HLC, 2023-24)

• Set up: 2 September 2023. Chair: former President Ram Nath Kovind [4]. Report submitted: 14 March 2024.
• Its task: to check whether simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha, the assemblies and local bodies are possible, and to suggest a legal framework for them [5].
• Consultation:
• more than 21,500 public responses, about 80% in favour [3]

• 47 political parties gave views, and 32 supported the idea [3]

• Two-step plan [3][5]:

• Step 1: the Lok Sabha and all assembly polls are held together.

• Step 2: municipal and panchayat polls are held within 100 days of Step 1.

• How the cycle is brought into line [5]:

• The President notifies an appointed date on the day of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election.
• Every assembly elected after that date ends when that Lok Sabha's full term ends, even if it has served fewer than five years.

• As a one-time measure, all assemblies and local bodies would be dissolved at the next Lok Sabha poll, however much of their term was left.

• If a House falls early [5]:

• This covers a hung House (no party or alliance has a majority), a no-confidence vote, or early dissolution.
• A fresh poll is held, but only for the unexpired term (the time left in the five-year cycle).

• Example: if the fresh poll comes two years after the common election, the new House sits for only three years.

• Common electoral roll [5]:

• Some states let their SEC prepare a separate roll. Others use the ECI roll.

• The HLC proposed one roll and one EPIC (Elector's Photo Identity Card), prepared by the ECI together with the SECs. This needs a change to Art. 325.

• Logistics: the ECI and SECs should plan EVMs, VVPATs, polling staff and security forces well in advance [5].

• Cabinet decision: the Union Cabinet accepted the recommendations on 18 September 2024 [3].

How the amendment must pass (Art. 368): steps in order

1. Introduction: in either House. No prior approval from the President is needed.
2. Passage in each House: by special majority. This means a majority of the total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting, in each House separately. A joint sitting (both Houses meeting together to break a deadlock) is not allowed.

3. State ratification: at least half the state legislatures must approve, each by simple majority (Art. 368(2) proviso). - Needed for the local body change (new Art. 324A) and the single roll (Art. 325) [5]. - Not needed for changes to the terms of Parliament and the assemblies (Arts. 83, 172) [5].

4. President's assent: the President must give assent (24th Amendment, 1971). - Contrast: the UT Laws (Amendment) Bill is an ordinary Bill. It passes by simple majority.

Limits and risks

• Federalism: tying state assembly terms to the Union's cycle may weaken the states' independence.
• Short Houses: unexpired-term polls can produce very short legislatures, for example a one-year House.
• Voter behaviour: an IDFC Institute study (2015) found about a 77% chance that voters pick the same party at both levels when polls are held together. This may favour national parties over regional ones.
• Machines: roughly double the number of EVMs and VVPATs would be needed, and they must be stored between cycles.
• Untimed deferral: the 2024 Bill lets the ECI defer a state's poll but sets no time limit [2].

In the Constitution and practice

• Today's text: the Constitution sets a five-year term for the Lok Sabha (Art. 83) and for the assemblies (Art. 172). Either House can be dissolved earlier. Nothing in the text forces the two cycles to stay together, which is why the 1951-67 pattern broke.
• Practice, 1951-67: Lok Sabha and assembly polls were held together in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967. The early 1971 Lok Sabha poll ended this common cycle.
• Bodies that backed simultaneous polls:
• 1983: ECI annual report, the first formal suggestion
• 1999: Law Commission, 170th Report on reform of electoral laws
• December 2015: Parliamentary Standing Committee (Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice), 79th Report
• 2017: NITI Aayog discussion paper

• August 2018: Law Commission draft report, listing the legal changes needed

• The 2024 Bills: two Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on 17 December 2024 [2].

• The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 [2]:
  • inserts Art. 82A: the President notifies the appointed date on the date of the Lok Sabha's first sitting after a general election. Assemblies elected after that date end with the Lok Sabha's full term.
  • lets the ECI recommend to the President that a state's poll be deferred, with no time limit. Even a deferred assembly still ends with the Lok Sabha.
  • amends Arts. 83 and 172: after an early dissolution, the new House serves only the unexpired term.
  • amends Art. 327: Parliament's power to make election laws will cover the "conduct of simultaneous elections".
  • leaves out local bodies: it drops Art. 324A and the Art. 325 roll change, so it does not need ratification by half the states.

• The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 amends the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the GNCTD Act, 1991 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. It puts UT assemblies on the same cycle [6].

• Introduction vote: the motion to introduce was carried 269-198 on a division (a recorded vote).

• Joint Parliamentary Committee: both Bills went to a JPC (a committee with members from both Houses that examines a Bill in detail). It is chaired by P.P. Chaudhary. PRS records the referral as 19 December 2024 [2], and the committee was formed on 20 December 2024.
• Status: the JPC was still consulting in 2026. It met Chief Ministers, presiding officers, parties, financial institutions and civil society in Mumbai, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Shimla, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar and Goa. The Bill is still with the committee [7].
• Basic structure link: Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, but it cannot destroy its core features, such as democracy and federalism (basic structure, Kesavananda Bharati, 1973). S.R. Bommai (1994) confirmed federalism as part of it. Critics use this to test whether ONOE is valid.

Don't confuse with

• "One vote" for all levels: ONOE changes only the timing of elections. The voter still casts separate votes for the MP and the MLA.
• ECI vs State Election Commissions: the ECI (Art. 324) runs Lok Sabha and assembly polls. The SECs run panchayat and municipal polls (Arts. 243K, 243ZA). This is why bringing in local bodies needs a new Art. 324A.
• Term changes vs local body or roll changes: changes to terms (Arts. 83, 172, new Art. 82A) need no state ratification. Changes for local bodies (Art. 324A) and the single roll (Art. 325) do need ratification by half the states [5].
• Constructive vote of no-confidence: this comes from Germany (Art. 67 of the Basic Law) and is a different reform. A government can be removed only if the House elects a new head of government at the same time, which avoids early dissolution. ONOE instead handles early dissolution with unexpired-term polls.

Prelims Hooks

• Common cycle: 1951-52, 1957, 1962, 1967. The early 1971 Lok Sabha poll broke it.
• Kovind HLC: set up 2 Sep 2023, reported 14 Mar 2024, and the Cabinet accepted it on 18 Sep 2024 [3]. Step 2 puts local body polls within 100 days of Step 1 [3][5].
• Art. 82A (new) = the appointed date, notified on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election [2].
• 129th Amendment Bill, 2024 amends Arts. 83, 172 and 327. It does not insert Art. 324A, so it needs no state ratification.
• Trap: after an early dissolution, the new House gets only the unexpired term, not a fresh five years [2].
• Law Commission 170th Report (1999) and Standing Committee 79th Report (2015) backed simultaneous polls. The UT Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is an ordinary Bill (simple majority).

Mains Points

• Efficiency vs federalism: common polls cut costs, reduce how often the MCC freezes new schemes, and free up forces and teachers who staff polling booths. But tying state assembly terms to the Lok Sabha may weaken state independence, which is part of the basic structure (S.R. Bommai, 1994). A balanced answer should also note the HLC's finding that term changes need no state ratification [5].
• Stability vs accountability: unexpired-term polls keep the cycle aligned. But they can create very short Houses and give voters fewer chances to judge governments. Possible fixes:
• a constructive vote of no-confidence to reduce early dissolutions (suggested by the Law Commission in 1999 and 2018)

• a two-cycle calendar: half the states vote with the Lok Sabha and the rest at mid-term

• Design gaps in the 129th Bill: leaving out local bodies avoids state ratification but drops the HLC's Step 2. The ECI's untimed deferral power could leave a state unrepresented for a long time [2]. Possible fixes: a time limit on deferral, and a common electoral roll built with the SECs. For GS-I, the break-up of the 1951-67 cycle shows the decline of Congress dominance, the coalition instability after 1967 and the use of Art. 356.

Related concepts

• High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections
• Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill 2024
• Common electoral roll

Read more

• Simultaneous elections: One Nation, One Election