One Nation One Election: Impact on Indian Democracy | UPSC

Introduction

• The Union Cabinet has recently approved the recommendations of the Ramnath Kovind-led High-Level Committee on One Nation, One Election. 
• The committee has outlined a roadmap where simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies will be the initial step, followed by municipal and panchayat elections within 100 days of the general election.
•  To implement this plan, the committee has proposed 18 amendments to existing laws, including 15 amendments to the Constitution.

Definition

• This concept refers to holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies instead of conducting separate elections at different times.

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Historical Background

• Initial Simultaneous Elections: India followed simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in 1952, 1957, 1962, and 1967.
• Disruption of the Cycle: In 1968 and 1969, due to the premature dissolution of some legislative assemblies, and in 1970 with the Lok Sabha’s premature dissolution, the simultaneous election cycle was disrupted.
• Current Scenario: As a result of these events, separate and continuous elections became the norm in India, leading to calls for reintroducing simultaneous elections.

The Kovind Committee on One Nation One Election

• Formation: A committee was constituted on September 2, 2023, under former President Ram Nath Kovind to examine the feasibility of implementing ‘One Nation One Election.’
• Committee Members: The committee included members like Home Minister Amit Shah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, N K Singh, Subhash C Kashyap, Harish Salve, and Sanjay Kothari.

Recommendations of the Kovind Panel:

• Constitutional Amendments Proposed: The panel suggests 15 amendments to the Constitution for facilitating simultaneous elections. These amendments will be presented through two Constitution Amendment Bills.

Key Provisions in the First Constitutional Amendment Bill:

• The provisions address the shift to a system of simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, outlining the procedure for holding fresh elections if either body’s five-year term expires prematurely.
  • • Passage of the Bill: The Bill can be passed by Parliament without the need for consultation with state governments or ratification by state Assemblies.
    • Insertion of Article 82A: Establishes procedures for simultaneous elections, detailing when and how general elections will be held for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
    • Article 82A(1): The President will issue a notification to bring Article 82A into effect on the date of the first sitting of the House of the People following a general election. This date will be referred to as the “Appointed Date.”
    • Article 82A(2): All Legislative Assemblies elected after the appointed date will dissolve at the end of the full term of the House of the People.
    • Article 82A(3): The Election Commission of India (ECI) will conduct general elections for both the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies simultaneously.
    • Article 82A(4): If the ECI determines that elections to any Legislative Assembly cannot be held simultaneously, it may recommend to the President to declare that the election for that Legislative Assembly be held at a later date.
    • Article 82A(5): Even if a state Assembly election is postponed, the full term of the Legislative Assembly will still conclude on the same date as the House of the People elected in the general election.
    • Amendment of Article 327: Article 327 grants Parliament the authority to legislate on matters related to elections for the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and state legislatures, including the creation of electoral rolls and the delimitation of constituencies.
    • The Kovind Panel Report on Simultaneous Elections has recommended expanding Parliament’s powers under Article 327 to also include the “conduct of simultaneous elections.”
    • Amendments for Simultaneous Elections in Case of Early Dissolution: Provisions have been recommended to ensure the continuation of simultaneous elections if the Lok Sabha or a state Assembly is dissolved before the end of its “full term.”
    • Amendment to Articles 83(2) and 172(1): The committee suggests that the five-year duration of both the House of the People and state legislatures be explicitly defined as the “full term.”
    • Amendments to Articles 83(3) and 172(3): In cases where the Lok Sabha or a state Assembly is dissolved before completing the full term, the remaining time will be designated as the “unexpired term.”
    • Addition of Articles 83(4) and 172(4): If a new Lok Sabha or state Assembly is formed to replace a dissolved one, it will only serve for the remaining “unexpired term” of the previous legislature.
    • Amendment of Laws of UT for Simultaneous Election: The Panel on Simultaneous elections has recommended amending the following UT laws for simultaneous elections.
    • The Government of Union Territories Act, 1963
    • The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991
    • The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019
    • Second Constitutional Amendment Bill for Local Elections: This bill pertains to elections for municipalities and panchayats, which are governed under Entry 5 of the State List, titled ‘Local Government.’ For the bill to be passed by Parliament, it must be ratified by at least half of the state legislatures in the country.
    •  New Article 324A: It would grant Parliament authority to legislate on simultaneous panchayat and municipal elections alongside national and state elections.
    • Addition of Article 325(2): The proposed sub-clause will establish a Single Electoral Roll for every territorial constituency, applicable for elections to the House of the People, State Legislature, Municipalities, and Panchayats.
    • Addition of Article 325(3): The Election Commission, in consultation with the State Election Commissions, will create this unified electoral roll. It will replace any previous rolls prepared either by the Election Commission under Article 325 or by State Election Commissions under Articles 243K and 243ZA.

Arguments in Favor of One Nation One Election

Cost Efficiency:

• • • Simultaneous elections would significantly reduce the financial burden on the exchequer. For instance, the 2014 Lok Sabha polls cost Rs 3,870 crore, while Bihar’s 2015 Assembly elections alone cost Rs 300 crore. In comparison, the Election Commission of India (ECI) estimates that implementing ‘One Nation One Election’ would cost around Rs 4,500 crore, saving substantial public resources that would otherwise be spent on multiple electoral cycles. 

Reduced Election Expenditure for Parties:

• • • Political parties can consolidate their efforts, focusing on a single, larger campaign, minimizing costs that would have been spent on separate state and national 

Minimized Policy Paralysis:

• • • Frequent elections necessitate the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which delays government decision-making and halts developmental projects. For example, in 2019, during the Lok Sabha elections, several major infrastructure projects in Maharashtra were put on hold, impacting public services. Simultaneous elections would reduce the number of times MCC is imposed, allowing uninterrupted governance and project execution.

Enhanced Governance:

• • • With continuous elections, governments tend to be in ‘election mode,’ focusing on short-term, populist policies instead of long-term developmental strategies. A unified election schedule would ensure that central and state governments can concentrate on governance for a full term, free from the distraction of frequent elections. In countries like Belgium and South Africa, where simultaneous elections are held, the political stability it provides allows governments to focus on comprehensive policy implementation.

Administrative Efficiency:

• • • Simultaneous elections would streamline the use of administrative resources. Currently, elections require the deployment of personnel and security forces in every state over months, straining the system. For example, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, over 11 million personnel were deployed across various states, pulling resources from their regular duties. Conducting elections simultaneously would optimize resource utilization, allowing civil servants and security forces to be better allocated to governance and internal security matters.

Reduced Black Money and Populism:

• • • Elections often see a surge in the circulation of unaccounted or ‘black money,’ as political parties engage in heavy, unregulated spending. For example, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Income Tax Department seized around Rs 830 crore of unaccounted cash. With fewer elections, the flow of black money would be curtailed, and the focus would shift to long-term governance instead of short-term populism.

Increased Voter Turnout:

• • • Simultaneous elections could lead to higher voter participation, as it would simplify the voting process, allowing citizens to vote for both state and national elections at once. For example, during the 2019 elections in Andhra Pradesh, where both Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections were held simultaneously, voter turnout was significantly higher at around 79.8% compared to other states where elections were held in phases.

Arguments Against One Nation One Election

Reduced Accountability:

• • • Regular elections serve as a critical feedback mechanism for governments, keeping them accountable to the electorate at both state and national levels. For example, frequent state elections in India allow voters to assess the performance of their state governments regularly and provide mid-term feedback to national parties through by-elections. For example, frequent state elections, such as those held in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, allow voters to regularly assess the performance of their state governments and express their dissatisfaction or approval. Mid-term elections and by-elections further provide a way for voters to give feedback on national party policies without waiting for the next general election.  In contrast, under simultaneous elections, governments might become complacent, knowing they do not face frequent electoral scrutiny. In Brazil, which holds simultaneous elections, some scholars argue that the lack of frequent state elections diminishes the responsiveness of governments to regional needs.

Undermining Federalism:

• • • Simultaneous elections risk overshadowing state-specific issues by focusing more on national agendas, undermining the federal structure. For example, in states like Tamil Nadu, local issues such as water-sharing disputes with neighboring states (like the Cauvery water issue) are central to elections. Simultaneous elections might cause these concerns to be sidelined in favor of broader national campaigns, which may not address the specific needs of the state. 

Disadvantage to Regional Parties:

• • • Regional parties could be marginalized in simultaneous elections, as national issues often dominate the narrative. For instance, during India’s 2019 Lok Sabha elections, parties like DMK in Tamil Nadu and TRS in Telangana focused heavily on state-specific issues. If state and national elections were held simultaneously, these regional parties might struggle to compete with larger national parties like BJP or Congress, which dominate national discourse. 

Voter Behavior:

• • • Simultaneous elections may lead to a phenomenon known as “contagion voting,” where voters are more likely to cast their ballots for the same party at both state and national levels, reducing the independence of voter choice. For example, research by the IDFC Institute in India revealed that there’s a 77% likelihood of voters choosing the same political party for both state and national elections when held together. In contrast, when elections are separated by a few months, this likelihood drops to 61%. 

Challenges in Conducting Simultaneous Elections

Logistical Issues:

• • • The Election Commission of India (ECI) has estimated that conducting simultaneous elections would require over 53 lakh ballot units, control units, and VVPATs, which will take considerable time and resources to manufacture. For example, in the 2019 general elections, ECI deployed over 17.4 lakh VVPAT machines, but simultaneous elections would demand more than double that number. The production of these machines is handled by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), both of which would need years of lead time to meet the demand, making the logistics a huge challenge. 

Security Concerns:

• • • Simultaneous polls would require significantly higher deployment of security personnel to maintain law and order across the country. For example, during the 2019 general elections, around 10 lakh personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were deployed. Simultaneous elections would require a much larger contingent, straining resources and risking internal security issues elsewhere. In a country as vast and diverse as India, securing elections in states with high levels of militancy, like Jammu & Kashmir and parts of the Northeast, could further complicate matters, as evidenced by the heightened security needs during the 2019 polls in these regions.

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Practical Limitations:

• • • The smooth conduct of simultaneous elections across all states could be hindered by factors such as local security conditions, weather, and festivals. For example, elections in states like Jammu & Kashmir are often postponed due to security concerns, and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were not held simultaneously in Jammu & Kashmir due to the high security demands. Additionally, during monsoon season, states like Kerala, Assam, and West Bengal experience heavy rainfall, making it difficult to hold elections uniformly across the country. Similarly, religious festivals and harvest seasons vary across states, complicating the scheduling of elections. For instance, in 2014, elections in Bihar were delayed due to the Chhath festival, demonstrating the difficulty of conducting polls simultaneously in a diverse and large country like India.

Constitutional and Legal Challenges:

• • • Simultaneous elections would require substantial amendments to the Constitution, particularly to Articles 83, 85, 172, and 174, which govern the duration and dissolution of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. The process would involve complex legislative changes and possible challenges in the courts.

Way Forward

• Consensus Building: Achieving consensus among all political parties is essential before implementing such a significant constitutional change.
• Law Commission’s Role: The government should wait for the recommendations of the 22nd Law Commission before proceeding further.
• Public Awareness: Public discourse on the pros and cons of simultaneous elections needs to be encouraged through media and other platforms to build a well-informed consensus.