Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will introduce the One Nation, One Election Bill in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The constitutional amendment bill is also likely to be referred to the Joint Committee of Parliament for wider consultations.
The bill, officially known as the 'Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill', seeks simultaneous Lok Sabha polls and state assembly elections. In addition, the minister will also introduce the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to align the elections of the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry and the NCT of Delhi.
Meghwal may tell the Lower House that since the Bill will need wider consultations with lawmakers and the public, it should be sent to a joint committee. The speaker will seek the names of members for the proposed panel from the parties on the same day.
The committee will be formed by Tuesday evening and the speaker will announce the committee's composition. The tenure of the proposed committee will be for 90 days but it may be extended later.
The joint panel will be constituted on a pro-rata basis, based on the strength of MPs of various parties. The BJP is also likely to get the chairmanship of the committee, besides several members.
The bill will be introduced in Rajya Sabha by Amit Shah, who was also a member of the high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind.
Kovind, in the reports, suggests holding Lok Sabha, state assembly and local body elections simultaneously in a phased manner. The Cabinet had given nod to the bill last week but opted to exclude holding simultaneous local body polls for now. Kovind had said during the consultation process on "one nation, one election" that 32 parties supported the idea while 15 did not.
