megapanalo Explained: What Is One Nation, One Election
The Union Cabinet has approved the 'One Nation, One Election' bill | | Photo: Getty ImagesThe Union Cabinet has approved the 'One Nation, One Election' bill | | Photo: Getty Images
The journey of ‘oneness’ has been a long one—One Nation, One Tax, One Nation, One Ration Card, and the latest addition is One Nation, One Election (ONOE). The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday approved the "One Nation, One Election" bill. The government is expected to introduce a comprehensive bill on this in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.
In simple terms, ONOE means that Lok Sabha, state Assembly, and local body (urban or rural) elections will be held in the same year, if not at the same time. This was the norm from independence until 1967, with four electoral cycles held during that period, starting with the first general election in 1951/52. However, this practice occurred only three more times—during the 1957, 1962, and 1967 elections.
The premature dissolution of some state governments in 1968 and 1969, as well as the early termination of the Lok Sabha in 1970, disrupted the simultaneous poll cycle. Currently, general, state, and local body elections are out of sync, following timelines dictated by the terms of each elected body.
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The idea of simultaneous polls has been frequently discussed in public gatherings and election rallies since 2014. ‘One nation, one election’ was a key promise made by the BJP during its campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
In September last year, an eight-member committee was set up, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, municipalities and panchayats. In March 2024, the High-level Committee on Simultaneous Elections, chaired by Kovind, submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu.
The Kovind Committee ReportThe Kovind-led Committee recommended bringing state, local, and general elections under one phase by 2029. The report also said amendments to Articles of the Constitution would be required.
The report said the elections would be synced in two phases. To begin with, it suggests syncing the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections. After that, the Panchayat and Municipality elections should be held within 100 days of the Lok Sabha and State elections, it added. The Committee has also said there needs to be a single electoral roll and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) for General, state and local elections.
In a press release dated March 14, 2024, the PIB said the “Committee has crafted its recommendations in such a way that they are in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution of India and would require bare minimum amendments to the Constitution.”
Constitutional Changes RequiredThe Committee said that the following changes are required:
Insertion of Article 82A and Article 324A
The proposed Article 82A(2) allows “all the Legislative Assemblies constituted in any general election held after the appointed date shall end on the expiry of the full term of the House of the People.” The Committee report said that the President should issue a notification to effect the amendment “on the date of the first sitting of the House of the People after a general election.”
The Election Commission of India (ECI), under Article 82A(3), would have to hold General and State Legislative Assembly elections simultaneously. If the ECI cannot conduct simultaneous polls, Article 82A(4) authorises it to “make a recommendation to the President, to declare by an Order, that the election to that Legislative Assembly may be conducted at a later date.”
Article 324A would allow for municipality and panchayat elections to be held alongside General Elections.
Amendment to Article 327
Article 327 of the Constitution gives the Parliament power to make election-related laws.
Amendments to Articles 83 and 172
The Committee recommends amending Articles 83 and 172, dealing with the five-year terms of Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies, respectively. The five-year term would, after the amendment, be called a “full term”. If either Houses are dissolved before the full term, the remaining time would be the “unexpired term.”
“In this manner, at the end of five years, the House of the People and all the State Legislative Assemblies would reach the end of their tenure simultaneously and be ready for a General election held simultaneously,” the Committee report said.
Miscellaneous Amendments
To hold simultaneous elections, the statutes governing India’s Union Territories need to be amended. Finally, States must ratify these changes as per Article 368 of the Constitution.
What’s Next For One Nation, One Election?If simultaneous elections are to come into effect in 2029, the process has to start now. The foremost challenge for the government is to synchronise the terms of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. The current electoral cycle is such that, in general, there are about 5-7 elections every year in the country.
After amendments to the constitutional provisions regarding the duration of the Lok Sabha and Assemblies by Parliament, several state Assemblies will have to be dissolved in 2029, well before their five-year term ends, to facilitate simultaneous elections.
The 10 states that held elections last year will vote again in 2028, and their new governments will be in power for about a year or less. These states are Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Karnataka, Telangana, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat will have governments lasting two years or less, even if they deliver clear majorities to a party, as their next elections are scheduled for 2027.
Similarly, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Kerala will have governments lasting only three years after the next Assembly elections in 2026, even in the event of a majority. Only Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Jammu & Kashmir, which went to the polls this year—some simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections—can maintain the same government for five years.
Support And CriticismThe government has given four reasons for implementing ONOE: cost savings, reducing the burden on the administrative setup and security forces, undeterred implementation of government policies, and ensuring more developmental work by the administrative machinery rather than focusing on continuous electioneering.
Supporters argue that simultaneous elections will end the constant election cycle in India. This would allow governments and political parties to prioritise structural reforms, which may be difficult politically but beneficial in the long run, over short-term populist measures. Other benefits include significant savings in public expenditure, reduced deployment of security forces and government officials, and less disruption to development projects due to frequent model code of conduct impositions.
However, BJP’s push for ONOE has faced criticism from the Opposition and sections of society, who believe it could alter the functional value of Indian federalism. Implementing ONOE would require more than a dozen Constitutional amendments, most of which would not need ratification by state assemblies. For instance, Article 174 gives the power to dissolve a state Assembly to the Governor, acting upon the Chief Minister’s request. Critics argue that simultaneous polls would fix Assembly terms, potentially reducing state autonomy.
Opponents also argue that simultaneous elections would marginalise regional political parties. They believe that voters might focus on national issues even during state Assembly or local elections, benefiting larger national parties and sidelining smaller regional ones. A CSDS study shows that out of the 31 assembly elections held alongside Lok Sabha elections between 1989 and 2014, in 24 of those electionsmegapanalo, major political parties gained a similar proportion of votes in both the assembly and Lok Sabha seats.