Days ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha poll schedule, the high-level committee, headed by former President Ramnath Kovind, submitted its report on holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies. The panel proposed to hold the Lok Sabha and assembly polls simultaneously in the first phase, and later, the local body polls along with these two, to bring about a transformation of the electoral process in the country.
For the first phase, the move would need constitutional amendments but no ratification by half of the states. The amendments would need ratification by half of the states if the local bodies and panchayat polls were also to be held along with the general elections.
The BJP has already set in motion the agenda for the next government as it is confident that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come to power for the third time. The party is likely to make simultaneous elections part of its manifesto as it did in the previous polls.
However, 15 political parties including the Congress, the Left parties, and the TMC, opposed simultaneous elections saying it was against the federal structure. The proposal received the support of 32 political parties including the BJP, BJD, JD(U), and the NCP.
What is the raison d'etre for holding simultaneous polls?
The panel argued that frequent elections burden the government exchequer and if the expenditure incurred by political parties is also added, these figures will be even higher. “Asynchronous elections cause uncertainty thwarting supply chains, business investments and economic growth. Frequent use of government officials and security forces adversely affect discharge of their duties. Frequent imposition of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) causes policy paralysis and slows down the pace of the developmental programmes,” the report observed.
“Holding of elections once every five years would result in mitigation of social disharmony and conflict, which is often observed during elections.”
How will the simultaneous elections be held?
As the first step, simultaneous elections will be held for the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. For this, no ratification by the states will be required for the constitutional amendment.
In the second step, elections to the municipalities and the panchayats will be synchronised with the Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly polls in such a way that elections to these local bodies will be held within hundred days of holding elections to Lok Sabha. This move will, however, require ratification by not less than one-half of the states.
What happens in case the Lok Sabha or state assembly is dissolved before its five-year tenure or has a hung house?
The panel suggested that in the event of a hung house or no-confidence motion, fresh elections should be held to constitute the new Lok Sabha or state legislative assembly for the “unexpired term” of the house. Those polls will be termed as mid-term elections. “Where fresh elections are held for the state assemblies, then such new legislative assembly unless sooner dissolved, shall continue upto the end of the full term of the House of the People.”
What steps have been proposed for holding simultaneous elections?
The panel has recommended the preparation of a single electoral roll and electoral photo identity cards (EPIC) for use in elections to all three tiers of government. For this, amendments in the Constitution will have to be made to enable the Election Commission of India to prepare a single electoral roll and EPIC. These amendments will require ratification by not less than one-half of the states.
For other logistical requirements, the Election Commission of India will plan and estimate in advance in consultation with the State Election Commissions, and take steps for the deployment of polling personnel, security forces, EVMs and VVPATs so that free and fair simultaneous elections are held in all the three tiers of the government, the report said.
What are the constitutional amendments needed?
The committee recommended amendments to the Constitution to enable simultaneous elections in two steps. Three sets of constitutional amendments will be needed. For Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies, no ratification by the states will be required for the constitutional amendment. Amendments in Articles 82 A and 324 A will have to be made for this.
But in case of elections to the municipalities and the panchayats, ratification by not less than one-half of the states will be needed.
Even for the purpose of preparation of a single electoral roll and electoral photo identity cards (EPIC) for use in elections to all the three tiers of the government, amendments in Article 325 of the Constitution are recommended. These amendments will require ratification by not less than one-half of the states.
Who were the panel members?
Apart from Kovind, the other members of the committee were Home Minister Amit Shah, former Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Lok Sabha secretary general Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap, former chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N.K. Singh, senior advocate Harish Salve, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.