The government is preparing to introduce three key bills aimed at advancing its ‘one nation, one election’ initiative, which includes two constitutional amendment bills.
One of the proposed constitutional amendments will focus on aligning local body elections with those of the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, a move that requires approval from at least 50 percent of the states. This aligns with the government’s commitment to synchronize elections at various levels following the recommendations of a high-level committee that emphasized phased simultaneous elections.
The first constitutional amendment bill aims to enable concurrent elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. According to sources, this bill intends to amend Article 82A by adding provisions related to the ‘appointed date’ and the simultaneous conclusion of terms for both the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. The second constitutional amendment bill will facilitate simultaneous elections for municipalities and panchayats, in addition to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, by introducing a new Article 324A.
The third bill, which will not require constitutional changes, aims to amend provisions in three existing laws related to Union territories with legislative assemblies—specifically Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir. This bill seeks to align the terms of these legislative bodies with those of the Lok Sabha and other state Assemblies, as proposed in the first constitutional amendment bill. The laws to be amended include the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act-1991, the Government of Union Territories Act-1963, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act-2019.
The high-level committee recommended amendments to three Articles and the addition of 12 new sub-clauses, resulting in a total of 18 proposed changes. In its report submitted to the government in March, the committee outlined a phased approach for implementing “one nation, one election,” suggesting that simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies occur in the first phase, followed by local body elections within 100 days of the general election in the second phase.
