Centre's 'One Nation, One Election' Proposal Gains Momentum With Law Commission's Final Report Set To Suggest Roll Out In 2029: Report

Laying the groundwork for the Centre's proposal of 'One Nation, One Poll', the 22nd Law Commission is set to submit its final report on the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The Commission headed by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi has been working on the final report since February of this year.

Last Saturday, the first meeting of a high-level committee on simultaneous polls took place, with former president Ram Nath Kovind at the helm of the panel.

The Justice Awasthi-led panel held extensive consultations with political parties, bureaucrats, academicians, and experts.

“I won’t say that there was consensus among parties on the idea,” an official was quoted as saying by the New Indian Express.

The official added that the government may send the Law Commission’s report to the Kovind-led committee for their perusal.

According to the official, the law panel would recommend synchronised elections in the next five years so that the simultaneous poll rollout will start in 2029.

The official stated that in order to achieve synchronised elections, the process must commence this year. He also dismissed the possibility of holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in 2024.

The commission has reportedly drawn most of its recommendations on the draft report of the previous Law Commission, which was led by Justice B S Chauhan, submitted in 2018.

“We have taken many recommendations of the Justice Chauhan committee report into consideration. On the same lines as the previous law commission’s report, we have recommended synchronisation of elections in the next five years,” he said.

The suggestions by the previous Law Commission included advancing or postponing the timing of elections in certain states to enable simultaneous polls for all state assemblies and the Lok Sabha.

If assembly elections are scheduled before Lok Sabha elections, the term of these assemblies could be extended to align with the Lok Sabha elections through a Constitutional amendment.

“We have also made proposals on similar lines. It is up to the government to take the final call,” the official said.

In the event that simultaneous elections are not feasible, the panel recommended conducting all elections due in a calendar year together, which would require at least five Constitutional amendments.

The official also mentioned that the previous commission's suggestions regarding the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, including scenarios involving a hung House and no-confidence motion, have been taken into consideration.