‘1 nation, 1 poll’ on cards in 2029; law panel report to be out soon
New Delhi, February 28
The Law Commission is likely to recommend ‘one nation, one election’ i.e. simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies and local bodies across India by mid-2029, sources said on Wednesday.
Headed by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi (retd), the commission is expected to propose adding a new chapter to the Constitution on ‘one nation, one election’ to make it possible to hold the world’s largest democratic exercise, they said.
The law panel’s report on the three-tier simultaneous polls is expected to be out soon as Justice Awasthi has been appointed as a judicial member of the Lokpal and the report has to be submitted to the government before he takes over his new assignment, they said. A high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind is also working on ‘one nation, one election’ and holding deliberations with various stakeholders, including political parties to make it a reality by effecting necessary changes to the Constitution and the existing legal framework. The Law Commission will recommend synchronising the terms of legislative Assemblies in “three phases” in the coming five years to ensure the first simultaneous polls are held in May-June 2029, when the 19th Lok Sabha will be elected. The amendment will include issues related to “simultaneous election”, “sustainability of simultaneous elections” and “common electoral roll” for Lok Sabha, state legislative Assemblies, panchayats and municipalities so that simultaneous polls can be held together “in one go”, they say.
The new chapter being recommended will have an overriding effect over other provisions in the Constitution dealing with terms of Assemblies and the five-year period in which the terms of Assemblies will be synchronised will be spread over three phases.
The first phase may deal with state Assemblies whose period will have to be curtailed by a few months — three or six months — and in case a government falls due to no-confidence or if there is a hung House, the law panel is likely to recommend constitution of a “unity government” with representatives from various political parties, the sources say. If the unity government formula does not work, fresh elections may be held for the remainder of the term of the House to ensure the next election for that House is held simultaneously with the rest of the country, they say.
