UPSC Issue at a Glance is a new initiative of UPSC Essentials to focus your prelims and mains exam preparation on an issue that has been in the news. Every Thursday, cover a new topic in Q&A format and don’t miss MCQs, Points to Ponder and key takeaways. Also, don’t forget to check the answers to MCQs towards the end of the article. This week’s topic is Simultaneous Elections. Let’s get started!

If you missed last week’s UPSC Issue at a Glance | Gandhi’s Philosophy in Constitution and Government Policies from the Indian Express, read it here.

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to conduct simultaneous elections in India, as a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind recommended. This has reignited the debate over “One Nation One Election” (ONOE). Some believe that simultaneous elections would benefit the citizens, while others argue that it would undermine the basic structure of the Constitution of India. In this context, let’s gain a broader understanding of Simultaneous Elections.

 

UPSC Syllabus: 

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance and Polity

Mains Examination: GS-II: Polity, Parliament and State legislatures, Constitutional Bodies. 

Other areas of relevance: UPSC Aspirants will find it useful in Essays, and Current affairs for their Personality tests.

Simultaneous elections, popularly referred to as “One Nation, One Election”, means holding elections to Lok Sabha, all state Legislative Assemblies, and urban and rural local bodies (municipalities and panchayats) at the same time. Currently, all these elections are held independently of one another, following timelines dictated by the terms of every individual elected body.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the constitutional provisions regarding the elections in India?

— How does the Election Commission of India (ECI) conduct elections in India?

The concept of “Simultaneous Election” is not alien to India. India has a history of holding simultaneous elections. Our democratic journey began with the first general election, where both the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections were conducted at the same time. It used to be followed by the elections to the posts of the President and the Vice-President.

This practice continued in 1957 with the second general elections, when several assemblies (Bihar, Bombay, Madras, Mysore, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal) were dissolved to align with national polls, ensuring synchronicity. 

After the 1962 elections, India underwent major social and political changes. The India-China war, the passing of India’s first and longest-serving Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1964, the 1965 India-Pakistan war, and the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri on January 11, 1966, altered the dynamics of India’s politics.

In this context, India saw the last  “One Nation, One Election” in 1967. The country’s fourth general elections involved 520 Lok Sabha constituencies and 3,563 Assembly seats. Polling was largely held during 15-21 February. It was a single-phase election in most of the states, but UP had it in four phases.

In 1971, PM Indira decided to hold the Lok Sabha polls 15 months ahead of the schedule, but a slew of states had already held mid-term Assembly polls – including Bihar (1969), Haryana (1968), Kerala (1970), Punjab (1969), UP (1969) and Bengal (1969) – thus breaking the simultaneous poll cycle, which would get increasingly disrupted in later decades. Along with the 1971 Lok Sabha polls, only states like Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Bengal went to the Assembly polls.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the powers and responsibilities of the ECI?

The High-level Committee (HLC) on One Nation, One Election had submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu on March 14. Former President Ram Nath Kovind was the Chairman of the High-Level Committee (HLC) on ‘One Nation, One Election’. The recommendations of the committee are:

1. Two Bills, 15 amendments in Constitution: For holding simultaneous elections, the committee had recommended 15 amendments to the Constitution of India — in the form of both new provisions and changes to existing provisions — to be carried out through two Constitution Amendment Bills.

(i) The first Bill will deal with the transition to a simultaneous election system, and the procedure for fresh elections to Lok Sabha or a state Assembly before the expiration of their stipulated five-year term. (According to the Kovind committee, this Bill can be passed by Parliament without the requirement for consultation with state governments or ratification by state Assemblies.)

(ii) The second Bill will deal with municipal and panchayat elections, as well as the creation of a Single Electoral Roll by the ECI, with details of every voter and the seat for which they are eligible to vote.

2. Single Electoral Roll and electoral ID: For the purpose of preparation of single electoral roll and electoral photo identity cards for use in elections to all the three tiers of government, the Constitution should be amended, so that the Election Commission of India can prepare a single electoral roll and election ID in consultation with the State Election Commissions.

3. In Case of Hung House, etc.: In the event of a hung House, a no-confidence motion, or any such event, fresh elections should be held to constitute the new Lok Sabha or state Assembly for the unexpired term of the House.

Points to Ponder: 

— Articles 83, 85, 172, 174, and 356 of the Constitution of India are related to what?

They (frequent elections) “put on hold development programmes, disrupt normal public life, and impact essential services and burden human resource with prolonged periods of election duty”, said former President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to the joint session of Parliament. 

The remark of former President Pranab Mukherjee highlights the potential benefits of simultaneous elections. Some other benefits of implementing one nation, one election are:

1. Reduce Logistical Burden: It is expected that simultaneous elections would significantly reduce the logistical burden on authorities. This means that election personnel, polling stations, security forces, and other arrangements would only need to be deployed once. Additionally, the preparation of the electoral roll, which is a massive task in itself, would only need to be done once.

2. Reduce Policy Paralysis: Simultaneous elections would help reduce policy paralysis caused by frequent impositions of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). When the MCC is in effect, governance comes to a standstill because new schemes or projects cannot be announced or implemented. Simultaneous polls would significantly reduce these periods of administrative limbo.

3. Reduce Expenditure: The holding of simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies would reduce the massive expenditure that is currently incurred for the conduct of separate elections.

In 2017, in a discussion paper, ‘Analysis of Simultaneous Elections: The “What”, “Why”, and “How”’, Bibek Debroy and Kishore Desai of the NITI Aayog wrote that the elections of 2009 had cost the exchequer about Rs 1,115 crore, and the 2014 elections about Rs 3,870 crore. The total spent on the elections, including the expenses incurred by parties and candidates, was several times more.

In Sweden, elections for the national legislature (Riksdag), provincial legislature/county council (landsting), and local bodies/municipal assemblies (Kommunfullmaktige) are scheduled to take place on a specific date, which is the second Sunday in September, every four years.

4.Convenience of voters: Staggered elections lead to voter fatigue and pose a challenge to ensuring participation. Asynchronous elections also disrupt government operations, causing hardship to citizens. Simultaneous elections are expected to be more convenient for voters.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the challenges in conducting free and fair elections in India?

Despite the various potential benefits of simultaneous elections, there are some challenges associated with it, such as:

1. Complexity of Simultaneous Elections: The main challenge of conducting simultaneous elections is the potential complications if any government were to collapse before completing its term. This applies to both state legislatures and the central government. For example, several Lok Sabhas since 1952 were dissolved ahead of schedule, such as in 1971, 1980, 1984, 1991, 1998, 1999, and 2004.

2. Logistical Issues: There would also be logistical issues in conducting simultaneous elections, such as the requirement for twice as many electronic voting machines and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machines.

Additionally, the deployment of security forces and officials in 700,000 polling stations located in widely varying geographic and climatic conditions all at the same time will be extremely difficult. It is precisely these problems that now cause elections to be held in multiple phases and on different dates even in the same state.

3. Alter the democratic and federal character: Critics of simultaneous elections argue that amending the Constitution to implement simultaneous elections would significantly change its democratic and federal nature. They argue that India is a “Union of States” where states have their own directly elected governments, and imposing a fixed term would infringe upon this right.

Simultaneous elections also have the potential to blur judgement due to the distinct nature of national and local issues. In simultaneous elections, voters may end up prioritizing one set of issues over the other in ways they might not have done otherwise. This could lead to national issues being ignored or, conversely, local issues being overshadowed by a national ‘wave’.

4. Constitutional Amendment: Another challenge associated with the implementation of simultaneous elections is the requirement of constitutional amendments. The first Constitution Amendment Bill to transition to a simultaneous election system will require a ‘special majority’ of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. For this, two conditions have to be satisfied under Article 368 of the Constitution.

(i) First, half of the total membership of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha must vote in favour of the amendment. Second, of the members present and voting, two-thirds must vote in favour of the amendment.

(ii) The second Constitution Amendment Bill will ensure that all local body elections (for municipalities and panchayats) are held within 100 days of the simultaneous elections. For this amendment to go through, an additional condition apart from the two mentioned above must be fulfilled.

This is because “local government” is a subject under the State List in the Seventh Schedule, which means only states have the power to pass laws on this subject. To amend the Constitution such that local body elections can take place alongside simultaneous elections, Article 368 stipulates that “the amendment shall also require to be ratified (agreed to) by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States” in the country.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes in “Why the arguments for and against One Nation One Election are flawed” —

“The idea that this is necessary for national unity, governmental efficiency or reducing election expenditure is speculative at best. But the more I hear the grounds on which the proposal is criticised, the less I am convinced that those grounds constitute adequate criticisms of the proposal…It may be that both sides are making assumptions about how this would work. But these are merely assumptions that, in all likelihood, will be subverted by the dynamics of politics. Actual dynamics under-determine outcomes.”

Points to Ponder: 

— What has been the practical experience with holding multiple elections at the same time?

Prelims

(1)  Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2021)

1. In India, there is no law restricting the candidates from contesting in one Lok Sabha election from three constituencies.

2. In the 1991 Lok Sabha Election, Shri Devi Lal contested from three Lok Sabha constituencies.

3. As per the existing rules, if a candidate contests in one Lok Sabha election from many constituencies, his/her party should bear the cost of bye-elections to the constituencies vacated by him/her winning in all the constituencies.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

(a) 1 only  

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3  

(d) 2 and 3 

(2) At present, the elections to which of the following legislative assemblies are conducted along with the Lok Sabha elections?

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Odisha

3. Sikkim

4. Assam

5. Manipur

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 4 only

(b) 2, 3 and 5 only

(c) 1, 2 and 3 only

(d) 2, 3, 4 and 5

(3) With reference to the High-level Committee (HLC) on “One Nation, One Election”, consider the following statements:

1. The committee recommended the preparation of single electoral roll and electoral photo identity cards.

2. The Constitution should be amended to enable simultaneous elections.

How many of the above are the recommendations of the High-level Committee (HLC)?

(a)  1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Mains

‘Simultaneous election to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies will limit the amount of time and money spent in electioneering but it will reduce the government’s accountability to the people’ Discuss. (UPSC CSE 2017)

(Source: How it was curtains on ‘One Nation, One Election’, ONOE: Highlights of the Kovind panel’s recommendations, Kovind committee on ONOE ), Simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and Assembly )

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