Simultaneous elections: One Nation, One Election

Detail

What "One Nation, One Election" means

• One Nation, One Election (ONOE) / simultaneous elections: the Lok Sabha and all state Legislative Assemblies are elected at the same time. The voter casts both votes on the same day or in the same phase.
• It does not mean one vote. The voter still casts separate votes for the MP and the MLA.
• The broader idea also brings in local bodies. These are panchayats (Part IX) and municipalities (Part IXA). They are elected by State Election Commissions (SECs) under Arts. 243K and 243ZA, not by the ECI.

History: how the common cycle was born and then broke

• The common cycle (1951-67): Lok Sabha and assembly polls were held together in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967.
• How it broke:
• 1968-69: several state assemblies were dissolved early. This happened after the unstable coalition governments of the post-1967 period.
• December 1970: the Lok Sabha was dissolved early. The general election came forward to 1971, a year before it was due. From then on, national and state polls fell on different years.

• Art. 356 dismissals: under Art. 356 (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 state assemblies were dissolved before their terms ended. This broke the cycle further.

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

• Classroom link: Class 9 "Elections" (iest107), Q14, asks students to debate One Nation, One Election.

Who has backed simultaneous elections

Year	Body	Document
1983	Election Commission of India	Annual report: first formal suggestion to bring the polls back together
1999	Law Commission	170th Report on reform of electoral laws: called for a return to simultaneous polls
Dec 2015	Parliamentary Standing Committee (Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice)	79th Report: on the feasibility of simultaneous elections
2017	NITI Aayog	Discussion paper on simultaneous elections
Aug 2018	Law Commission	Draft report: listed the constitutional and legal changes that would be needed

The Kovind High-Level Committee (HLC)

• Set up: 2 September 2023. Chair: former President Ram Nath Kovind [4]. Report submitted: 14 March 2024.
• Its task: to check whether simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, the assemblies and local bodies are feasible, 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 their views, and 32 supported the idea [3].

• Why it backed the idea:

• Frequent elections create uncertainty and "policy paralysis" (a state where the government delays decisions).
• Common polls would bring stability, lower costs and higher turnout.
• It cited research linking simultaneous polls to higher growth, lower inflation, more investment and better-quality public spending [5].

Two-step plan

• Step 1: Lok Sabha and all assembly polls are held together.
• Step 2: municipal and panchayat polls are held within 100 days of Step 1 [3][5].

How the cycle would be synchronised (brought into line)

• Appointed date: the President notifies this 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 the assembly 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, whatever time they had left [5].

Hung House, no-confidence vote or early dissolution

• A hung House is one where no party or alliance has a majority.
• A fresh election is held, but only for the unexpired term (the time left in the five-year cycle).
• Example: if a fresh poll comes two years after the common election, the new House sits for only three years. The cycle stays aligned [5].

Constitutional changes proposed

• Art. 82A (new): the appointed date and the common end of terms.
• Arts. 83 and 172: terms of the Lok Sabha and the assemblies.
• Art. 327: Parliament's power to make election laws, to cover simultaneous polls.
• Art. 324A (new): local body polls held alongside the general election.
• Art. 325: a single electoral roll.

Ratification by states

• Ratification means the legislatures of at least half the states must approve an amendment before it takes effect (Art. 368(2) proviso).
• Changes to the terms of Parliament and the assemblies do not need it [5].
• Changes about local bodies and the single electoral roll do need it [5].

Common electoral roll

• Today there are two election authorities. The ECI (Art. 324) runs elections to Parliament, the state legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President. The SECs run local body polls under state laws.
• Some states let their SEC prepare a separate roll. Others use the ECI roll [5].
• The HLC proposed one roll and one EPIC (Elector's Photo Identity Card), prepared by the ECI in consultation with the SECs. This means amending Art. 325 [5].

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

Cabinet decision: the Union Cabinet accepted the HLC's recommendations on 18 September 2024 [3].

The 2024 Bills

• Two Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on 17 December 2024 [2]: 1. The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 2. The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024: amends the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. It aligns UT assemblies with the same cycle [6].

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

• Referral: both Bills went to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chaired by P.P. Chaudhary. PRS records the referral as 19 December 2024 [2]; the committee was constituted on 20 December 2024. A JPC is a committee with members from both Houses that examines a Bill in detail.

What the 129th Amendment Bill does

• Inserts Art. 82A:
• The President notifies the appointed date on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election [2].
• All assemblies elected after that date end with the Lok Sabha's full term.

• The ECI may recommend to the President that a state's poll be deferred if it cannot be held with the others. No time limit is set for this deferral [2]. Even a deferred assembly still ends with the Lok Sabha.

• Amends Arts. 83 and 172: if the Lok Sabha or an assembly is dissolved early, the new House serves only the unexpired term [2].

• Amends Art. 327: Parliament's law-making power will cover the "conduct of simultaneous elections" [2].
• Leaves out local bodies: the Bill drops Art. 324A and the Art. 325 roll change, so it does not need ratification by half the states.

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 remains with the committee [7].

How a Constitution amendment like this passes (Art. 368)

Step	Requirement	Applies to
1. Introduction	In either House. No prior President's approval needed	Both Bills
2. Passage in each House	Special majority: a majority of the total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting, in each House separately. No joint sitting allowed	129th Bill
3. State ratification	At least half the state legislatures, by simple majority	Needed for Art. 324A (local bodies) and Art. 325 (roll); not for the 129th Bill as drafted
4. President's assent	The President must give assent (24th Amendment, 1971)	All amendments
Contrast: UT Laws Bill	Ordinary Bill, passed by simple majority	UT Bill

The debate

Arguments for

• Cost: one combined poll costs less than many separate ones.
• Governance: fewer MCC periods freezing new schemes and projects.
• Manpower: less diversion of central forces, police and teachers (who staff polling booths).
• Voter fatigue: fewer trips to the booth may raise turnout.
• Policy focus: governments can plan for five years instead of campaigning all the time.

Arguments against

• Federalism and basic structure:
• Basic structure means Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution but cannot destroy its core features. These include democracy and federalism (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973; federalism confirmed in S.R. Bommai, 1994).

• Tying state assembly terms to the Union's cycle, and cutting some terms short, may weaken the states' independence.

• Accountability:

• Fixed cycles mean governments face voters less often.

• Unexpired-term polls can produce very short legislatures (for example, a one-year House), which may be costly and unstable.

• National issues swamping state ones:

• An IDFC Institute study (2015) found about a 77% chance that voters pick the same party for both levels when polls are held together.

• This may favour national parties over regional ones.

• Logistics: roughly double the EVMs and VVPATs would be needed. Storing them between cycles is also a problem.

• Hung assemblies and Art. 356: an assembly can still fall mid-term. Short-term polls or President's rule would then become more common.
• ECI deferral power: the Bill sets no time limit on a deferral [2]. Critics say a state could stay unrepresented for a long time.

Alternatives

• Two-cycle calendar: hold half the states with the Lok Sabha and the rest about mid-term. This means two big polls every five years instead of many.
• Constructive vote of no-confidence (Germany, Art. 67 of the Basic Law): a government can be removed only if the House elects a new head of government at the same time. This avoids early dissolution. The Law Commission (1999 and 2018) also suggested it.

Prelims Hooks

• Lok Sabha and assembly polls were held together in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967. The early 1971 Lok Sabha poll ended the common cycle.
• Kovind HLC: constituted 2 Sep 2023; reported 14 Mar 2024; Cabinet accepted it on 18 Sep 2024.
• HLC's Step 2: local body polls within 100 days of the Lok Sabha and assembly polls.
• Art. 82A (new) = the appointed date, notified on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election.
• 129th Amendment Bill, 2024 amends Arts. 83, 172 and 327. It does not insert Art. 324A, so it needs no state ratification.
• Trap: the Art. 324A (local bodies) and Art. 325 (single roll) changes need ratification by half the states. Term changes under Arts. 83 and 172 do not.
• After early dissolution, the new House serves only the unexpired term, not a fresh five years.
• Law Commission 170th Report (1999) and Standing Committee 79th Report (2015) both backed simultaneous polls.
• Constructive vote of no-confidence comes from Germany (Art. 67, Basic Law).
• Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 amends the GUT Act 1963, GNCTD Act 1991 and J&K Reorganisation Act 2019. It is an ordinary Bill.

Mains Points

• Efficiency vs federalism: simultaneous polls cut costs and MCC freezes. But tying state assembly terms to the Lok Sabha's cycle may hurt state independence, which is part of the basic structure. A balanced answer can cite S.R. Bommai (1994) and the HLC's finding that term changes need no state ratification.
• Stability vs accountability: unexpired-term elections keep the cycle aligned. But they can produce very short legislatures and give voters fewer chances to judge governments. A constructive vote of no-confidence can reduce early dissolutions without weakening accountability.
• Design choices in the 129th Bill: leaving out local bodies avoids state ratification but drops the HLC's Step 2. The ECI's untimed deferral power is open to misuse. Possible fixes: a time limit on deferral, a two-cycle calendar, and a common electoral roll built with the SECs.
• Post-1947 history (GS-I): the break-up of the 1951-67 cycle reflects the decline of Congress dominance. Coalition instability after 1967, the early 1971 poll and Art. 356 dismissals show how party politics shaped the election calendar.