One Nation One Election proposal approved in cabinet: Bill will come in November-December; Assembly-Lok Sabha elections will be held together, civic elections in next 100 days
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal to hold assembly elections (One Nation One Election) along with Lok Sabha elections in the country. The bill will be introduced in Parliament in the winter session i.e. in November-December.
After the cabinet meeting, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that ‘Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held together in the first phase. After this, municipal elections should be held together in the second phase within 100 days.
On September 17, Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the government will implement ‘One Nation One Election’ in this term itself. On August 15, the Prime Minister had said that frequent elections are creating obstacles in the progress of the country.
The committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, formed to consider One Nation One Election, submitted its report to President Draupadi Murmu on March 14. The report is 18 thousand 626 pages long.
The panel was formed on 2 September 2023. This report is the result of 191 days of research after discussions with stakeholders-experts. The committee has suggested extending the term of all assemblies till 2029.
5 suggestions of Kovind panel…
- The tenure of all state assemblies should be extended till the next Lok Sabha elections i.e. 2029.
- In case of a hung assembly (no one has a majority) or a no-confidence motion, fresh elections can be held for the remaining term of 5 years.
- In the first phase, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections can be held simultaneously, after which in the second phase, local body elections can be held within 100 days.
- The Election Commission will prepare single voter list and voter ID card in consultation with state election officers for Lok Sabha, Assembly, local body elections.
- The Kovind panel has recommended advance planning of equipment, manpower and security forces to hold simultaneous elections.
Will there be any obstacle in making the bill a law
- The Kovind Committee has suggested 18 constitutional changes, most of which do not require consent of state legislatures.
- For some constitutional changes, it will be necessary to pass bills in Parliament.
- Approval of more than half the states will be necessary for single electoral roll and single voter ID card.
- It is possible that the Law Commission may also present its report on the report of the Kovind Committee.
- Sources say that the Law Commission should suggest holding Lok Sabha, Assembly, local bodies and Panchayat elections simultaneously in 2029.
- Apart from this, the Law Commission should demand rules in case of a situation like a coalition government and hung assembly.
Right now such is the possibility of One Nation-One ElectionTo implement one country-one election, the tenure of many state assemblies will be reduced. The tenure of the states where assembly elections were held at the end of 2023 can be extended. The report also said that if all the parties agree on the Law Commission’s proposal, then it will be implemented from 2029. Also, for this, assembly elections will have to be held in 25 states by December 2026.
First phase: 6 states, Voting: in November 2025
- Bihar: The current term will be completed. The next term will be only three and a half years.
- Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry will have their current term reduced by 3 years and 7 months. The subsequent term will also be 3 and a half years.
Second phase: 11 states, voting: in December 2026
- Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand: The current tenure will be reduced by 3 to 5 months. After that, it will be two and a quarter years.
- Gujarat, Karnataka, Himachal, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura: Current tenure will be reduced from 13 to 17 months. The subsequent tenure will be two and a quarter years.
After these two phases, the term of all the assemblies of the country will end in June 2029. According to sources, the Kovind Committee will seek another proposal from the Law Commission, which will also talk about including the elections of local bodies.
The committee has 8 members, was formed in September 2023An 8-member committee headed by former President Kovind was formed on 2 September last year. The first meeting of the One Nation One Election Committee was held on 23 September 2023 at Jodhpur Officers Hostel in Delhi. It has 8 members including former President Ram Nath Kovind, Home Minister Amit Shah and former MP Ghulam Nabi Azad. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has been made a special member of the committee.
what is one nation one electionAt present, in India, the state assembly elections and the Lok Sabha elections are held at different times. One Nation One Election means that Lok Sabha and assembly elections should be held simultaneously across the country. That is, voters will cast their votes on the same day, at the same time or in a phased manner to elect members of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
After independence, Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were held simultaneously in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967, but in 1968 and 1969 many assemblies were dissolved prematurely. After that, the Lok Sabha was also dissolved in 1970. Due to this, the tradition of one country-one election was broken.
