'One Nation, One Election' Proposal Gets Cabinet Nod, Bill Likely To Be Tabled In Parliament's Winter Session

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (18 September) cleared the proposal for ‘one nation, one election’, which aims to synchronise the elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies to a single schedule. 

The ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill is likely to be introduced in the upcoming winter session of Parliament, News18 reported citing sources.

The development came months after a high-level panel set by the Centre and headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind submitted its proposal in March this year.

This comes as PM Modi during his address to the nation on 78th Independence Day, stressed on implementing key reforms including the 'One Nation, One Election'.

He noted that the frequent elections in India make it easy to allege that government schemes are introduced to influence the outcome of an impending election.

Hailing the Ram Nath Kovind committee's report on the feasibility of One Nation, One Election, PM Modi urged the political class to come forward and engage on the issue.

“In front of the tricolour flag from the Red Fort, I urge the political parties of the country who understand the Constitution, to make maximum use of India's resources for the progress of India and to realise the dream of One Nation One Election for the common people. We must come forward to make it come true,” PM Modi had added.

In its report, submitted to President Droupadi Murmu in March, the Kovind panel had recommended a two-step approach to lead to the simultaneous elections.

As the first step, simultaneous elections will be held for the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies.

In the second step, elections to the Municipalities and the Panchayats will be synchronised with the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies in such a way that Municipalities and Panchayats elections are held within hundred days of holding elections to the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies.

The Committee also recommends that there should be a single electoral roll and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) for use in elections to all the three tiers of Government.

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