The central government has started moving forward with the “One Nation, One Election” scheme, which has been a long-standing proposal to hold simultaneous elections for the state Assemblies and the Lok Sabha. To further this objective, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced two major bills in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The bills – one suggesting changes to the duration and dissolution of state legislatures, linking their terms to that of the Lok Sabha and another proposing similar amendments to the legislatures of the union territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry – were introduced in the Lower House.
Under the “One Nation, One Election” framework, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has guaranteed simplified electoral procedures and this is the first constitutional step towards achieving that goal.
JPC’s Crucial Role
The proposed amendments will be examined by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) with a maximum of 31 members, including representation from the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha will comprise 21 of these MPs.
Speaker Om Birla will finalise the committee’s composition within 48 hours, guaranteeing that the procedure is finished by Friday’s conclusion of the current parliamentary session. It will be necessary to reintroduce the bill in the following session if the committee is not established within this time limit.
The BJP, the biggest party in Parliament, is anticipated to hold the majority and serve as the committee’s head, however, political parties have been encouraged to propose members.
The JPC will have 90 days from the date of establishment to present its report, yet extensions may be given if needed.
The committee will meet with a wide range of stakeholders throughout this time, including non-committee MPs, constitutional experts, retired judges, lawyers and Election Commission (EC) members. To guarantee a thorough assessment, speakers from state assemblies and the general public will also be consulted.
Before completing its recommendations, the committee reviews the proposed revisions clause by clause as part of its duty.
The concept aims to streamline the electoral process by scheduling state assemblies and Lok Sabha elections for the same year.
States like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan went to the polls in 2023, while Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim went to the polls in 2024 as part of a staggered cycle of elections. Tamil Nadu and Bengal will cast votes in 2026, while states like Delhi and Bihar will do so in 2025.
