The constitutional amendment legislation that would allow for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections were introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday. Following a preliminary round of debate, the opposition requested a vote split as the law minister introduced the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha. 198 members voted against it, while 269 members supported it.
A combined committee of the two Houses might be tasked with reviewing the bills. Following the measures’ introduction, Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Trinamool Congress MPs launched scathing assaults.
The country’s measures for simultaneous elections were rejected by Congress MP Manish Tewari, who said that they violated the fundamental structure doctrine of the Constitution. “Introduction, consideration of one nation, one election bills beyond the legislative competence of this House, urge govt to withdraw it,” he told the Lok Sabha.
Dharmendra Yadav, an MP for the Samajwadi Party, criticised the legislation for simultaneous elections, claiming they were an attempt by the BJP to impose “dictatorship” on the nation. “I am not able to understand just two days ago, no stone was left unturned in the glorious tradition of saving the Constitution. Within two days, the Constitution Amendment Bill has been brought to an end the basic spirit and the basic structure of the Constitution. I agree with Manish Tewari and on behalf of my party and my leader Akhilesh Yadav, I have no hesitation in saying that there was no one more learned than the makers of our Constitution at that time, even in this House, there was no one more learned, I have no hesitation in saying this…” the SP MP said.
Kalyan Banerjee, a member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), also condemned the legislation, saying they were “just a fulfilment of one gentleman’s desire and dream” rather than reforming elections. “This proposed bill hits the basic structure of the Constitution itself and if any bill any actual which hits the basic structure of the Constitution that is ultra vires…We must remember that the state government and the state legislative assembly are not subordinate to the Central government or to the Parliament itself…” Banerjee was quoted as saying.
According to a copy of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was distributed on the evening of December 13, midterm elections will only be scheduled to allow that legislature to finish the remaining five years of its tenure if the Lok Sabha or any state assembly is dissolved before the completion of its entire term.
The bill proposes changing Articles 83 (duration of Houses of Parliament), 172, and 327 (authority of Parliament to make laws with respect to elections to Legislatures) and adding Article 82(A) (simultaneous elections to the House of the People and all Legislative Assemblies). It specifies that the amendment’s provisions will take effect on a “appointed date,” which the President shall announce during the first Lok Sabha session following a general election.
According to the bill, the “appointed date” will be after the next Lok Sabha elections in 2029, with simultaneous elections slated to begin in 2034. It states that the House of the People (Lok Sabha) will serve for five years following its appointment date, and that any legislative assemblies elected after that day will serve for the same amount of time as the Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi supports the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2024 election agenda, which included the idea to align elections. However, a number of political parties and activists strongly oppose the plan, claiming it will undermine democratic accountability. The ‘One ation, One Election’ bill was forwarded to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, as Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had urged last week.
