“One Nation, One Election” is a proposition of the Government of India which aims to ensure a
synchronised election process for the Lok Sabha elections ( lower house of the Parliament) along
with all other state assembly elections. Under this proposition, the Government of India plans to
hold simultaneous elections which is intended or expected to be held within the same day,
nationwide or within a specific time frame of a few days solely allocated for the conduct of these
elections.
Which pertains to the fact that there might not be any more of state elections from four years from
now, That is, from the year 2029.
Appointment of 2 New Election Commissioners
With just a few days remaining before the onset of this year’s Lok Sabha Elections, Bureaucrats;
retired IAS Officers – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar have both been officially appointed
as the new Election Commissioners of India, appointed by the President Draupadi Murmu on the 14th
of March, 2024.
Report Drafting Committee
The Official committee that drafted and presented this report to the President of India, Draupadi
Murmu, was led by the Former President Ram Nath Kovind. The other members of the committee/
panel were;
- Amit Shah; Union Home Minister
- Ghulam Nabi Azad ; Former Leader of the Opposition of the Rajya Sabha
- N. K. Singh ; Former Finance Commission Chairman
- Subhash Kashyap; Former Lok Sabha Secretary General
- Harish Salve ; Senior Advocate
18,626 page report
The official and formal panel led by the Former President Ram Nath Kovind submitted the official
report prepared upon 18,626 pages which consists of 11 Chapters plus Annexures. Out of which ,
one of the Chapters, Chaptet IV- deals with the most highly talked about topic of “One Nation, One
Election “ and upholds numerous suggestions that are to be considered whilst following the
proceedings of elections to make this proposition a reality in four years from now, simultaneously
emphasising and dealing with the varied concerns raised by those in the opposition and those who
express their opposition towards the process of the conduct of elections on various grounds .The
committee presented this report to the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on the 14th of
March.
Restoring Simultaneous Elections
The committee emphasised towards the need to restore the cycle of conducting simultaneous
elections, which was disrupted during the initial decades of India’s independence.
The report suggested thus professed an unanimous consensus and opinions which were based on
suggestive considerations from various parties, stakeholders and experts who consented onto the
decision to implore the conduct of simultaneous and synchronised elections in the nation within a
time frame of 100 days.
This report also laid out suggestions that the centre must legally establish and develop a legally
tenable mechanism that ensures the restoration of the cycle of simultaneous elections, preferably
before 2029.
Benefit of simultaneous elections
Simultaneously held polls will act as catalyst towards the spur of development and shall foster
development and social unification which will ultimately, cater to the enhancement of
democratisation and shall help the nation in realisation of their aspirations.
Tenure of State Legislative Assemblies The committee recommended that the tenure of the State Legislative Assemblies should end with
the subsequent General Election to the house of the People after the appointed date.
Constitutional Amendments
The committee also recommended few suggestions , or rather certain amendments to the
Constitution, such as the inclusion of the introduction of Article 324A for the simultaneous conduct
of elections in the Panchayats and municipalities. Along with amendments to include Article 325 for
single Electoral Roll and Single Elector’s Photo Identification Card, in consultation with the State
Electoral Authorities.
At present, the Election Commission of India is responsible for the conduct of Lok Sabha Elections
and State Assembly Polls, while Local Body Polls for Municipalities and Panchayats are managed and
conducted by the State Election Commissions.
The committee/ Panel put forth numerous recommendations that does not require any form of
ratifications by the states. The Committee also confirmed that they have constructed and crafted all
of their recommendations, as per way that it stands in accordance with the Constitution of India
which shall only serve very minutely liminal amendments to the Constitution.
Two- Step Approach
The Committee proposed the implementation of a two step process.
In the first step; Elections conducted in the House of the People must be synchronised with the
elections conducted for the State Legislative Assemblies.
In the Second step; Elections that conducted to Municipalities and Panchayats should be
synchronised with the elections conducted for the House of the People and State Legislative
Assemblies.
Handling Emergencies
In an unprecedented event of a ‘Hung House’, the committee recommended for the implementation
of a No Confidence Motion.
If at all, such a situation arises, there must be a consensus that Fresh Elections must be held to
constitute a New House.
Logistical Planning
As per the recommendations put forth by the Committee, the Election Commission Board of India
with the State Board of Election Commissions should draw up plans and estimate in advance for all
the possible logistical arrangements, including the procurement of equipment’s necessary for the
efficient conduct of elections such as the Electronic Voting Machines ( EVMs) and Voter-Verified
Paper Audit Trail ( VVPATs) and must ensure the integrity in deployment of polling personnel and
security forces in the election centres.
Implementation Group
One of the key factors that ensures and necessitates the smooth and efficient conduct of any project
is the implementation group that oversees all the activities and tasks and ensures complete
transparency until it’s completion. Henceforth, the Committee also recommends the employment of
the Implementation Group that has to oversee the proper execution of all recommendations, put
forth as per the Recommendations of the Committee.
Notification by the President
Along with all the above mentioned suggestions and recommendations, the Committee also
proposed a recommendation that the President of India must make sure to issue a notification on
the date of the first sitting of the House of the People after the General Elections, officially
designating it as the official Appointed Date for the smooth and transparently efficient
synchronisation of the conducting process of all Elections