Govt claims synchronised poll plan has widespread public & political support | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Ahead of govt tabling the ‘one nation, one election’ bills in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the law ministry said the idea of simultaneous polls proposed aligning the election cycles of Lok Sabha and state assemblies, but voting could continue to be held in multiple phases, not necessarily on the same day across the country.
“Voters to cast their ballots for both tiers of govt (Parliament and assemblies) on the same day in their constituencies, though voting could still occur in phases across the country,” the ministry said in an explainer.
For the first 15 years, from 1951-52 to 1967, simultaneous elections were held for Lok Sabha and assemblies, it said and added that this cycle of synchronised elections was disrupted in 1968 and 1969 due to the premature dissolution of some state assemblies. Some states such as Tripura and Nagaland that were formed later were not aligned with the Lok Sabha polls.
The first to be dissolved under Article 356 was the Left govt in Kerala in 1959. Non-Congress govts in Punjab, Haryana, UP and Bihar were similarly dissolved, and President’s Rule imposed in 1968.
BJP has accused Congress of misusing Article 356 at least 50 times to dissolve elected govts in states.
“The fourth Lok Sabha was also dissolved prematurely in 1970, with fresh elections held in 1971. Unlike the first, second, and third Lok Sabhas, which completed their full five-year terms, the fifth Lok Sabha’s term was extended until 1977 under Article 352 because of the declaration of the Emergency,” it said.
Since then, only a few Lok Sabha terms have lasted the full five years, such as the eighth, 10th, 14th and 15th. Others, including the sixth, seventh, ninth, 11th, 12th and 13th, were dissolved early.
Thrice, Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely within one and half years: the ninth Lok Sabha was dissolved within one year and three months on March 13, 1991; again the 11th Lok Sabha was dissolved within one year and six months on Dec 4 1997; the 12th Lok Sabha had the shortest period of one year and a month and was dissolved on April 26, 1999. The next Lok Sabha was also dissolved prematurely on Feb 6, 2004, eight months ahead of schedule.
By proposing to align these elections, the high-level committee on simultaneous elections led by former president Ram Nath Kovind has led the groundwork for a transformative shift in India’s electoral process, the ministry said.
“The proposed phased approach to implementing simultaneous elections, along with constitutional amendments, could pave the way for a more efficient and stable electoral environment in India,” it said. The govt claims that the proposed simultaneous elections have widespread public and political support as it streamlines the country’s democratic processes and bolsters the efficiency of governance.
The Kovind panel received over 21,500 responses, with 80% in favour of simultaneous elections. People from most states and UTs supported synchronisation of elections, including those from opposition-governed states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal.
Of the 47 political parties which sent their responses, 32 supported simultaneous polls while 15 raised their concerns about potential anti-democratic effects and marginalisation of regional parties.
Despite e-voting option, a few take ballot route
The voting process for introduction of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Amendment Bill, 2024 wasn’t all smooth sailing. Though the new Lok Sabha has provision for electronic voting, some members insisted on exercising their franchise through ballot paper. Those in favour of the bill had to press the green button on the automatic vote recording system installed on each seat, those against had to press the red button and members wanting to abstain from voting had the choice to press the yellow button. 369 MPs cast votes through the machine and remaining 92 were cast through slips. However, due to the confusion, voting had to be carried out twice and even then, some of the MPs chose to opt for voting through the ballot papers. Total 269 members voted in favour of the Bills while 198 others opposed it and, thus, the bills were accepted for introduction in the lower House.