New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-led NDA government set the ball rolling on implementation of ‘One Nation, One Election’ with the Union Cabinet Wednesday accepting the recommendations of the high-level committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind which advocated for simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha, state assemblies and civic bodies.
Government sources told ThePrint that a bill proposing simultaneous polls is likely to be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament.
Sources added that the Cabinet has tasked three ministers, namely Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to talk to opposition parties on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal.
By accepting the Kovind-led panel’s recommendations, the Modi government appears to have made clear its intention to fulfil one of the key promises made in its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
However, for the BJP-led NDA to ensure passage of legislation enabling ‘One Nation, One Election’ in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is easier said than done, given how numbers are stacked in both houses of Parliament.
A bill to pave the way for simultaneous polls will require a constitutional amendment. According to Article 368, for a bill proposing a constitutional amendment to sail through, “not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting” must vote in favour of the bill.
The total strength of the Lok Sabha is 543, which means two-thirds of the Lower House will amount to 362 MPs.
The NDA, despite having a simple majority (272) in Lok Sabha, is unlikely to muster this number since the BJP-led alliance has 293 MPs in the Lower House—BJP with its 240 MPs, and those of its 14 allies, among them TDP with 16 and JD(U) with 12 MPs.
Constitutional experts say even if one were to include non-NDA parties like the YSRCP (with its 4 Lok Sabha MPs) or the BJD or AIADMK, which have favoured the idea of simultaneous polls in their response to the Kovind-led panel, it is still unlikely to touch the 362-mark.
In Rajya Sabha too, the NDA faces a similar predicament. With its strength of 245, two-thirds of the Upper House will amount to 163 MPs.
The NDA’s current strength in the Rajya House is 119 (including nominated members).
In its report submitted to President Droupadi Murmu in March, the Kovind-led panel had said it collected feedback from 47 parties, of which 32 (mostly BJP allies) favoured simultaneous polls. But many parties who favoured the proposal do not have a single member in either of the House.
Constitutional experts are of the view that the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal is against the basic tenets of federalism and amounts to taking away the rights of states. To facilitate simultaneous polls, the Kovind-led panel in its report recommended curtailment of tenure of state assemblies to make it coterminous with the Lok Sabha to facilitate simultaneous elections. This, it noted, would result in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies being ready for simultaneous polls at the end of their respective terms.
“Taking away the power of the state to recommend dissolution of the assembly, curtailment of tenure of assembly, etc. will amount to violation of federalism, which is part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. Parliament does not have the power to alter the Basic Structure as per the decision in the Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala case,” former Lok Sabha secretary general P.D.T. Achary told ThePrint.
Also Read: ‘One nation-no election, dictatorship & death of federalism’ — oppn parties decry simultaneous polls
Cabinet nod means ‘Modi means business’
It’s not that the BJP is oblivious to the fact that it does not have the numbers to ensure passage of a constitutional amendment in Parliament.
Explaining the rationale behind the Cabinet nod, a senior BJP leader, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint that the idea was for the party to indicate to the people that it does not make ‘empty promises’.
“Cabinet approval shows the party is committed to implement its manifesto promises. You see, politics is like a foreign exchange booth. You may get a certain exchange rate at a point in time and it may change within a few hours and days. So, today it might be that we are not quite there in the numbers game but it may change in the days to come,” said the leader.
A second BJP leader said it shows “Modi means business” and losing its simple majority in the Lok Sabha does not in any way mean that the party has deviated from its goal of “moving ahead” on its legislative agenda.
“Modi ji will continue to drive his agenda onward; more than the BJP, ‘One Nation, One Election’ is PM Modi’s agenda. The number 241 doesn’t mean he will deviate from his agenda. The messaging of this Cabinet approval is that Modi means moving ahead,” said the BJP leader.
A third senior party functionary pointed out that a Cabinet approval is a technical issue since an ‘implementation group’ formed by the government will now draft a bill, which will be then sent to the Cabinet for approval before it is introduced in the Lok Sabha. “Cabinet approval is a logical step but all approvals may not convert into bills, and all bills that are tabled may not become an act. It is too soon to speculate over that.”
Citing the example of the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023, the functionary said the bill was junked and later approved by the Modi government.
“Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and later in Maharashtra, Jharkhand as well as Delhi will also have a bearing on this. It will not only have a bearing on BJP but its allies too,” said the functionary.
Adding, “People who like Modi will see that he is still moving ahead with the promises made in the BJP’s manifesto, while his adversaries will also not be able to criticise because he is in fact moving in the direction of that which is his agenda. So it is a tactical move by Modi.”
BJP allies back Cabinet nod
For now, the Cabinet nod for the proposal for simultaneous polls has received the endorsement of key BJP allies, including TDP, JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM (Secular).
Jyothsna Tirunagari, national spokesperson of the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP, told ThePrint, “We are in-principle in support of the ONOP. We have supported it earlier too. Anything the NDA alliance decides on in larger national interest is welcome to us. If there are any changes, modifications we need are necessary, we will submit our concerns.”
K.C. Tyagi, secretary general of the JD(U), said the Nitish Kumar-led party supports the proposal, particularly because “it will help smaller parties like JD(U)”.
“Nitish ji made our party’s stand clear many years back. At the same time, a lot of money is spent on holding these elections and parties like us don’t have such election funds. It also impacts administration because the (Model) Code of Conduct is in place throughout the year as elections carry on in one part of the country or the other. Even security personnel are deputed throughout the year and hence we support this initiative,” he said.
Union minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan took to X to say that the Union Cabinet “has taken a historic and significant step in the interest of the nation”.
Simultaneous polls, he added, “will not only strengthen our democratic process but also reduce election-related expenses and accelerate developmental activities”.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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