The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, held a press conference on 'One Nation, One Election' in Bengaluru today. Speaking at the event, Member of Lok Sabha and Chairman of the Committee, Shri P. P. Chaudhary, stated that 'One Nation, One Election' must be implemented. He added that holding State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections at the same time is in the country's best interest.

He clarified that 'One Nation, One Election' does not mean all voting will happen on a single day. Instead, elections will be held together in phases, based on the Election Commission's convenience. He called this a major election reform that future generations will remember, as it will help achieve the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat'.

Currently, elections happen throughout the year across the country's 30 States and Union Territories. This leads to unnecessary spending of tax payers’ money. Additionally, because of the Model Code of Conduct, officials are often pulled away from their regular duties. As a result, important welfare schemes for the poor get delayed, causing problems for the public. Continuous elections also create uncertainty, which might make foreign investors hesitant to invest in India. All of this directly or indirectly affects our economy, general administration and children's education, he explained.

The Committee aims to build an consensus among its members to recommend a strong law to Parliament. This law should be acceptable to everyone and beneficial to the country. He noted that by bringing together the remaining State elections, all elections across the country will shift to a simultaneous process by the year 2034.

For example, if a state has an election in 2032, its government’s term would end in 2034 to sync with the national schedule. This will require a change to the Constitution. Keeping elections synced in a democracy is a tough task. To handle the challenge of a government falling before completing its tenure due to a no-confidence motion, the Committee might suggest adopting the German model (where a new leader must be chosen before removing the current one) or the Japanese model (where the leader is elected on the floor of the House). The Anti-Defection Law would also need updates to support this. If we successfully manage this shared system, the country will have a stable setup for the next 100 years, Shri Chaudhary said. Member of Lok Sabha Shri Sambit Patra was also present at the event.

 

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