Why in News?
16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya told a Parliamentary panel that frequent elections every 4–5 months delay reforms, interrupt policymaking, and raise costs. Supporting simultaneous polls, he argued one-time elections in five years would provide stability, reduce subsidies, and ensure smoother governance.
Description:
Key Provisions of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024:
- New Article inserted: Article 82A – enables simultaneous elections.
- Article 83 (Duration of Parliament):
- Lok Sabha dissolved before full term → next Lok Sabha serves only remainder of unexpired term.
- New House after mid-term polls ≠ continuation of old one.
- Article 172 (Duration of State Legislatures): Similar changes as Article 83 → State Assemblies will align with Lok Sabha term.
- Article 327 (Parliament’s Power on Elections): Expanded to include “conduct of simultaneous elections”.
- Appointed Date: President notifies; from then, State Assemblies elected before expiry of full Lok Sabha will end with Lok Sabha’s term.
- Election Commission’s Powers:
- If the Assembly poll cannot be held with Lok Sabha → EC recommends deferment to the President.
- The Deferred Assembly will also end with Lok Sabha’s term.
- EC to notify the end-date of each Assembly while scheduling elections.
Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024:
- Amends:
- Government of Union Territories Act, 1963
- Government of NCT of Delhi Act, 1991
- J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019
- Aligns UT Assemblies’ term with Lok Sabha.
About Simultaneous Elections (ONOE):
- Means elections for Lok Sabha + State Assemblies (and ideally local bodies) together.
- Local bodies not included in the Bill.
- Voting need not be on one single day – can be in phases.
- A high-level committee (headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind) gave a roadmap for phased synchronization.
Need for Simultaneous Elections:
- Financial savings: Reduces election expenditure, manpower, security deployment.
- Economic benefits: Reduces uncertainty, boosts business environment.
- Governance: Avoids repeated Model Code of Conduct (MCC) disruptions.
- Voter participation: Minimizes voter fatigue.
- Operational efficiency: Fewer election offences, less burden on courts.
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