“Notwithstanding anything in article 83 and article 172, the term of all legislative assemblies constituted in any general election held after the appointed date and before the expiry of the full term of the House of the people shall come to an end on the expiry of the full term of the House of the people,” the proposed Bill says.
The Bills drafted as per the recommendations of the high-level committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind are likely to be introduced on Dec 16, Monday.
The Bill adds a new Article 82(A) (simultaneous elections to the House of the People and all Legislative Assemblies) and amends Article 83 (Duration of Houses of Parliament), Article 172 (Duration of State Legislatures), and Article 327 (Power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures).
Since the first sitting of the Lok Sabha elected in 2024 is past, the earliest the appointed date can be notified is the first sitting of the House elected in the 2029 elections.Since the first sitting of the Lok Sabha elected in 2024 is past, the earliest the appointed date can be notified is the first sitting of the House elected in the 2029 elections.
The Union Cabinet approved the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment Bill), 2024, on Thursday (Dec 12) and circulated it to MPs on Friday (Dec 13th).
As per the draft Bills, simultaneous elections would come into effect on an “appointed date” to be notified by the President on the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election.
All state assemblies elected after this appointed date would have their terms curtailed to end along with that of the full term of the Lok Sabha, thereby paving the way for simultaneous elections.
Since the first sitting of the Lok Sabha elected in 2024 is past, the earliest the appointed date can be notified is the first sitting of the House elected in the 2029 elections. This means that simultaneous polls could be held by 2034 when the full term of that House ends.
The Bill for Union territories makes the same changes to provisions for the assemblies of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry.
The draft bill inserts Article 82(A), which says, “The President may be by a public notification issued on the day of the first sitting of the House by the people after a general election, bring into force the provision of this article, that date of the notification shall be called the appointed date.”
Sources say “expensive and time-consuming” factors have been given out as chief reason for a move towards simultaneous polls. The government did not specify the cost or the exact timeline for the roll-out.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav says, "The Prime Minister is coming (to reply to Constitution debate in Lok Sabha) today, dissolve the government, hold elections once again in the whole country.
If there is so much hurry for one nation one election, then the governments of the whole country should be dissolved today itself and elections should be held, if there is so much hurry....'Yeh log Khodne vale log hain, hum log khojne vale hain'...".
On One Nation One Election,
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra says, “The overall merits of the bill, as per media reports, is that (One Nation One Election) will be implemented only in 2034 because the notification of the same may happen in the first sitting after a general election of the Lok Sabha…
"Contrary to media reports that it might lead to simultaneous elections with state and local bodies, the bill might only talk about the Lok Sabha and the Vidhansabha elections…
In case a Lok Sabha on a 5-year period somehow falls, then there'll be a midterm election for the election of another Lok Sabha which will not be for the next 5 years, but for the remainder of the term…
Our stand always has been that it requires wider debate and discussion. My recommendation would be to send it to a joint parliamentary committee…”
ends
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