In the recently concluded winter session (November 25 – December 20) of Parliament, the Constitution was the issue of discussion. This debate was also during the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 when Rahul Gandhi and his yes-men misled MPs on the Constitution. They argued that if the Modi Government comes again, it will change the Constitution. However, during the debate in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminded Congress how its leaders like Pt Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi played with the Constitution and amended it 77 times.
During this session, one more important issue became a point of debate in the media when the Narendra Modi Government introduced “One Nation One Election Bill” in Lok Sabha on December 17. A division vote followed, where 269 members supported the bill and 198 voted against it.
On the last day of the Parliament’s winter session 2024, Lok Sabha adopted a resolution to refer the constitutional amendment bills for holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The JPC on bill will have a total of 39 members, with 27 from Lok Sabha and 12 from Rajya Sabha. Importantly, in March 2024, the High level Committee on Simultaneous Elections constituted under the Chairmanship of Ram Nath Kovind, former President of India, submitted its report on “One Nation, One Election- Simultaneous Elections core to Aspirational India” to President Droupadi Murmu. Later, in September, the Union Cabinet approved Ram Nath Kovind-led committee’s report on the “one nation, one election” proposal.
Hiding Inconvenient Truth
Is ONOE new for Bharat that Congress and its allies are targeting the Modi Govt? No, this is not the case. During the first four General Elections in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967, elections in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies were held simultaneously. It was the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, grandmother of Rahul Gandhi, who announced her decision to dissolve the Lok Sabha in 1970 and called for a General Elections in 1971. This was 15 months before the end of her term. Also, due to the premature dissolution of some of the State Legislative Assemblies in 1968 (Haryana) and 1969 (Nagaland, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar), the tenures of the State Legislative Assemblies and the House of the People were not synchronised in 1971. Thus, simultaneous elections were not possible. Of course, Rahul Gandhi will not talk about this as it was directly related to Bharat’s federal structure. In other words, it would not be wrong to say that it was the first major attack on Dr BR Ambedkar’s Constitution. Undoubtedly, the Emergency was the second and the biggest attack on the Constitution by the same Indira Gandhi Government.
Benefit of ONOE
At present, Bharat conducts about five State Assemblies elections every year. This adversely impacts all the key stakeholders – the Government (both Centre and the State Governments), Government employees/ officials on election duty including Security Forces, general electors/voters, as well as political parties and candidates.The country remains in elections mode continuously. Also every year these States are under a model code of conduct, which directly impacts their governance and policies. Also when Election is conducted it impacts education of schools and colleges.
Minimising Expenditure
In 2014, Niti Ayog Published a report on simultaneous elections in the country. The report covered the impact of conducting separate elections. The report said, “Frequent elections lead to huge expenditures by various stakeholders. Every year, the Government of India and/or respective State Governments bear expenditures on account of conduct, control and supervision of elections. Besides the Government, candidates contesting elections and political parties also incur huge expenditures. The candidates normally incur expenditures on account of various necessary aspects such as travel to constituencies, general publicity, organising outreach events for electorates etc. while the political parties incur expenditures to run the party’s electoral machinery during elections, campaigning by star leaders and so on. The entire expenditure on actual conduct of elections to Lok Sabha is borne by Government of India and such expenditure on conduct of election to State Legislatures by the respective State Governments when such elections are held independently. If concurrent elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly are held, then the expenditure is shared between Government of India and respective State Governments.”
Takeaways from Committee on Simultaneous Elections
- Public Response: The Committee received over 21,500 responses, with 80 per cent in favour of simultaneous elections. The responses came from all corners of the country, including Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, Nagaland, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli. The highest responses were received from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh
- Responses from Political Parties: Forty seven political parties submitted their views. Of these, 32 parties supported simultaneous elections, citing benefits like resource optimisation and social harmony. 15 parties raised concerns about potential anti-democratic effects and marginalisation of regional parties.
- Expert Consultations: The Committee consulted former Chief Justices of India, former Election Commissioners and legal experts. A majority supported the concept of simultaneous elections, emphasising the waste of resources and socio-economic disruptions caused by frequent elections.
- Economic Impact: Business organisations like CII, FICCI, and ASSOCHAM supported the proposal, highlighting the positive impact on economic stability by reducing disruptions and costs associated with election cycles.
- Legal and Constitutional Analysis: The Committee proposed amendments to Articles 82A and 324A of the Indian Constitution to enable simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and local bodies.
- Phased Approach to Implementation: The Committee recommended implementing simultaneous elections in two phases:
- Phase 1: Synchronising Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies elections.
- Phase 2: Synchronising elections for Municipalities and Panchayats with Lok Sabha and State Legislative elections within 100 days.
- Electoral Roll and EPIC Harmonisation: The Committee highlighted inefficiencies in electoral roll preparation by State Election Commissions and recommended creating a Single Electoral Roll and Single EPIC for all three tiers of Government. This would reduce duplication and errors, safeguarding voter rights.
Notably, according to industry experts, It is estimated that conducting simultaneous elections could result in savings ranging from Rs 7,500 crore to Rs 12,000 crore. According to the former President Ramnath Kovind-led committee report, “Comparing changes in real national GDP growth before and after episodes of simultaneous and non-simultaneous elections, the estimates suggest that on average, real GDP growth is higher following episodes of simultaneous elections, while we find a decrease post the non-simultaneous episodes. The magnitudes suggest approximately 1.5 percentage points higher post-pre difference in real national growth during simultaneous elections as compared to non-simultaneous elections.
Impact on governance and flow of investment
According to the committee report, “More frequent elections can directly disrupt activity but also indirectly affect the economy through greater uncertainty. Both these channels are likely to have implications for investment in the economy. simultaneous elections are associated with higher post-pre difference in investment compared to non-simultaneous elections. On average, the pre-post difference in the ratio of GFCF to GDP is estimated at about half a percentage point higher for simultaneous election episodes compared to non simultaneous ones, which is consistent with lesser interruptions in economic activity and lower uncertainty. To put the magnitudes in perspective, a 1.5 per cent of GDP is equal to INR (Indian Rupee) (4.5 lakh crores in Financial Year 2024, half of the public spending on health, and one third of that on education.”
Notably, the report also cites examples from countries like South Africa and Sweden, where elections are conducted simultaneously. Having said that One Nation One Election is going to expedite Bharat’s economic growth as the country would get rid of election mode and the Governments would focus on governance instead of thinking about framing policies keeping elections in mind.
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