Law Commission Favours Simultaneous Elections; Calls For Further Discussions On The Matter

The Law Commission of India has submitted its draft report favouring holding of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. "Time has come for India to revert to simultaneous elections in the greater national interest", the Commission observed in the draft report.According to the Commission, enabling a voter to cast his or her vote for electing members to the Central and state governments on the same day would "save public money, help reducing the burden on administrative set-up and security forces and will ensure better implementation of government policies on time and the administrative machinery of the country will be continuously engaged in developmental activities rather than in electioneering".It also noticed that holding simultaneous elections is not possible within the existing framework of the Constitution and suggested ‘inevitable constitutional amendments’.Though the Commission endorsed the idea in principle, it acknowledged that further discussions in the matter was required to evolve a "workable formula"."In view of the complexity of the issues involved, it is desirable to have further discussions and examination on the matter, involving all the stakeholders, once again, before making final recommendations to the Government", it stated while submitting the draft recommendation in public domain.It put forward three options for achieving the idea, and called for "a healthy and sustainable debate on the issue". The options suggested by the Commission are :First OptionAs a first option, elections to 12 State Assemblies and one Union Territory (with legislature), could be synchronised with the elections to the House of the People in the year 2019. Out of these, elections to the Legislative Assemblies of five States, viz., Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Telangana are due with the elections to the House of the People, and, therefore, stand synchronised. If there is political will, and consensus is arrived at, elections to four State Assemblies, viz., Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and NCT of Delhi (Union Territory with Legislature), can also be held along with the House of the People and the five States mentioned in (i) above, in 2019, subject their voluntarily agreeing to take recourse to Article 172(1) or by the operation of law. In case of the other four States viz., Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan, where 120 elections are due in early January of 2019 (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan) and end of 2018 (Mizoram), extension of up to six months is required to attain synchronisation with the elections to the House of the People in 2019, which will entail amendment to Article 172 of the Constitution. In case of the remaining 16 States and Puducherry (Union Territory with Legislature), holding simultaneous elections in 2019 will be impracticable. Therefore, the elections to these State Legislative Assemblies can be conducted towards the end of 2021, which will be approximately midway of the term of the House of the People, assuming that the term of the 17th Lok Sabha begins in mid of 2019. In such a scenario, the maximum period by which any State Assembly is to be extended will be by 13 months (in the case of Bihar) and the maximum period of curtailment is seventeen months (in the case of Karnataka). The term of the State Legislative Assemblies so constituted as a result of the elections in 2021 shall be only for 30 months or till June 2024, whichever is earlier. Thereafter, elections to the House of the People and all the State Legislative Assemblies and Union Territories (with legislatures) can be held together from 2024, completely synchronising the elections.Second Option As a second option, once the elections to 12 State Legislative Assemblies and one Union Territory (with Legislature) are synchronised along with the elections to the House of the People in 2019 and the remaining 16 State Legislative Assemblies and one Union Territory (with Legislature) by the end of 2021, the elections will stand synchronised in such a manner that they are held only twice in five years, repeating the cycle of the elections to the House of the People and 13 States (including one Union Territory with Legislature) in mid-2024 and elections to 17 States (including one Union Territory with Legislature) by the end of 2026. This will result in elections only twice in a period of five years. Synchronisation of elections as given in Option-I above will, therefore, require suitable amendment to Article 172 of the Constitution or insertion of a new clause to that Article, for (i) extension/curtailment of the terms of Legislative Assemblies of certain States; and (ii) limiting the terms of the State Legislative Assemblies constituted as a result of the elections to be held in end of 2021, so as to be synchronised with the elections to the House of People to be held in mid-2024. For Option- II, Amendment only as mentioned at (i) above will be ...

Law Commission Favours Simultaneous Elections; Calls For Further Discussions On The Matter

Ashok Kini

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