New Delhi:

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday held a division vote to introduce two bills to amend the Constitution and permit simultaneous federal and state polls, as part of the ruling BJP’s ‘one nation, one election’ push.

The bills were passed by simple majority, as required by the rulebook; 269 MPs voted in favour and 198 opposed it. However, the margin was flagged by critics of the ‘one nation, one election’ bill, who claimed it shows the government lacks support, even at this stage, to pass the bills.

“Two-thirds majority (i.e., 307) was needed out of the total 461 votes… but the government secured only (269), while the opposition got 198. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal failed to gain two-thirds support,” Congress MP Manickam Tagore said on X, with a screenshot of the e-voting system.

Two-thirds majority (307) was needed out of the total 461 votes, but the government secured only 263, while the opposition got 198. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal failed to gain two-thirds support. pic.twitter.com/5GIQQ0qY7r

— Manickam Tagore .Bமாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) December 17, 2024

Mr Tagore’s colleague, Shashi Tharoor, also pointed out the apparent gap in numbers.

“Undoubtedly the government has larger numbers on its side… but to pass it (bills to amend the Constitution) you need a 2/3 majority that they very clearly don’t have,” he told reporters after the House was briefly adjourned, “It is obvious (then) that they should not persist too long with this…”

#WATCH | On One Nation One Election Bill, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says “…Undoubtedly the government has larger numbers on its side than us. In the JPC, however, they may even have a majority in terms of the composition of the JPC but to pass it as a constitutional amendment,… pic.twitter.com/8e56JJNNCP

— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2024

According to the rules, these amendments to the Constitution will require the support of two-third of members present and voting to clear the Lok Sabha. The Congress, using today as an example, pointed out that 461 members took part in the vote to introduce the Constitutional Amendment Bill.

If this were a vote to pass the bill, 307 of those 461 would have to vote in favour but only 269 did, prompting the Congress to say, “This bill does not have support… many parties have spoken against it.”

The Congress’ exultations, while premature, contain a kernel of truth.

‘One Nation, One Election’ Numbers Game

As of today the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has 293 MPs in its camp, and the opposition – the Congress-led INDIA – has 234. Even at full strength the NDA’s score is not enough – as the Congress leaders said – to push through bills to amend the Constitution.

The BJP will, therefore, need support, from non-aligned parties, but there are only two possibilities here – the YSR Congress with four MPs and the Akali Dal with one. Both have already pledged support. 

That leaves Prime Minister Narendra Modi needing at least nine more votes – not impossible to cobble together for the BJP – for his ‘one nation, one election’ dream to cross the Lok Sabha.

For now, the bill will likely be sent to a joint committee that will be constituted based on each party’s Lok Sabha numbers. This will mean the BJP will have the maximum members and lead the committee

Congress, Opposition Slam ONOP

The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha this afternoon by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. The introduction was followed by scathing attacks from the opposition.

The Congress’ Manish Tewari, the Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, and TR Baalu from Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led the charge.

The Shiv Sena faction of ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Sharad Pawar, as well as a host of smaller parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Indian Union Muslim League, also voiced opposition.

READ | “Not Tampering With State Powers”: Law Minister On ‘ONOP’

The common thread among critics of the ‘One Nation, One Poll’, or ONOP Bill, was that the simultaneous elections proposal subverts the basic structure of the Constitution and must be withdrawn immediately. Mr Yadav, meanwhile, warned the House, “This is the path to dictatorship”.

Earlier, Trinamool boss and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it “a design to subvert the basic structure of the Constitution and slammed the “anti-federal” exercise, labelling it “an authoritarian imposition designed to undermine India’s democracy and federal structure”.

READ | “Must Save Democracy”: Mamata Banerjee, Opposition Slam ‘1 Nation, 1 Poll’

Mr Baalu flagged the expenditure simultaneous polls entailed, including the Election Commission having to spend Rs 10,000 crore on new EVMs, or electronic voting machines, every 15 years. “The government should send this bill to the JPC (joint parliamentary committee),” he said.

READ | Rs 10,000 Crore Every 15 Years – Cost Of ‘One Nation, One Poll’

“Unwavering Support” From BJP Allies

Two of the BJP’s allies – Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Telugu Desam Party and the Sena faction of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – established their backing of the bill.

“We have seen in Andhra Pradesh (that) when simultaneous elections happen… there is clarity of process and governance. That has been our experience and we want that to happen across the country,” the TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said, expressing “unwavering support”.

BJP Responds

Rising to speak after the avalanche of criticism, Mr Meghwal hit back and insisted the ‘one nation, one election’ proposal is a long-pending piece of electoral reform and will not damage the Constitution.

“Laws can be brought in for electoral reforms… this bill is aligned with the process of easing the electoral process, which will be synchronised. There will be no damage to the Constitution via this Bill. There will be no tampering with the basic structure of the Constitution,” he said.

What Is ‘One Nation, One Election’?

Simply put, it means all Indians will vote in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections – to pick central and state representatives – in the same year, if not at the same time.

As of 2024, only four states voted with a Lok Sabha election – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha voted alongside the April-June Lok Sabha election. Three others – Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir – voted in October-November.

NDTV Special | ‘One Nation, One Election’: What Is It And How Will It Work

The rest follow a non-synced five-year cycle; Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana, for example, were among those voted at different times last year, while Delhi and Bihar will vote in 2025 and Tamil Nadu and Bengal are among those that will vote in 2026.

Can ‘One Nation, One Election’ Work?

Not without an amendment to the Constitution and that amendment being ratified by the governments of all states and union territories, as well as, possibly, major political parties.

NDTV Explains | ‘One Nation, One Election’. What Are Pros And Cons?

These are Article 83 (term of Parliament), Article 85 (dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President), Article 172 (duration of state legislatures), and Article 174 (dissolution of state legislatures), as well as Article 356 (imposition of President’s Rule).

Legal experts have warned that failure to pass such amendments will leave the proposal open to attack on charges of violating India’s federal structure.

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New Delhi:

India aims to move to a system of holding a singular, unified, gargantuan election in which citizens elect both the Central government and respective state (federal) governments.

This will not be the first time India attempts this system of election. When the country earned its Independence in 1947, the founding fathers had planned for this very model of election – simultaneous parliamentary and state assembly polls. From the very first election held in the country – in 1952 – this was the way India voted.

But all that changed in 1967 – when India voted for the last time under the ‘One Nation, One Election’ format. At the time, all of India voted in a single phase, except for Uttar Pradesh (formerly United Provinces), which voted in four phases. Polling was conducted between the 15th and 21st of February that year. This was India’s fourth such election and polling was carried out to elect MPs and MLAs to 520 Lok Sabha seats and 3,563 Assembly constituencies.

Then the era of coalition politics peaked, and ultimately led to the end of simultaneous elections in the country. Till 1967, the Congress was the only party which governed India, but by then it was facing several challenges and setbacks. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had died a few year ago, his daughter, Indira Gandhi was facing pressure from key allies; the Congress was facing large-scale anti-incumbency as well as struggling with an internal power tussle, and to top it all, India had lost the 1962 war against China.

Six decades hence, India now looks to resume the ‘One Nation, One Election’. The Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister has cleared the proposal and approved the bills to implement it. It will now likely be tabled in Parliament in the ongoing Winter Session, with an aim to be passed Constitutionally for it to become the norm.

OTHER NATIONS WITH SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS

Before this stage was reached, a high-level panel had been formed. It was led by former President Ram Nath Kovind. The panel not just studied how India carried out such elections in the past and what the loopholes were at the time, but also carried out extensive research on how such elections are carried out across the world.

During its global research, the panel focused on seven countries – South Africa, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Indonesia, The Philippines, and Japan – all of which carry out simultaneous elections and have been doing so successfully. The panel then submitted its findings and a proposed working model to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu earlier this year.

In its report, the panel stated that a detailed comparative analysis of countries with similar electoral processes was studied to understand their workings of conducting simultaneous elections. The aim of understanding multiple models from different nations carrying out unified, simultaneous polls was to learn and adopt the best international practices and to ensure fairness and transparency in the electoral process.

“In South Africa, voters cast their ballots for both the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures simultaneously. However, municipal elections are held separately from provincial ones in a five-year cycle,” the report stated.

Sweden, the panel stated, functions on a proportional electoral system. This means that the number of seats a political party is assigned in the elected assembly is based on its share of votes in the election. “They have a system where elections for the Parliament (Riksdag), County Councils, and Municipal Councils all take place at the same time. These elections occur every four years on the second Sunday of September whereas elections to the municipal assemblies occur on the second Sunday of September, once every five years,” it stated.

The panel also studied the German model of electioneering. In its report is stated that in Germany, there is a constructive vote of no-confidence in addition to the procedure for the appointment of a Chancellor made by the Bundestag (Germany’s Lower House of Parliament). It is a variation on the motion of no confidence that allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a head of government only if there is a positive majority for a prospective successor.

In Japan, the Prime Minister is firstly appointed by the National Diet and thereafter accepted by the Emperor. According to the report, a key member in the high-level panel had suggested that India should “adopt a model similar to that in Germany and Japan”.

Like India, Indonesia also switched to the ‘One Nation, One Election’ format only recently – in 2019. The President, Vice-President, and members of both national and regional legislative bodies are elected on the same day. According to the report by the high-level panel “Political parties need 4 per cent of votes to qualify for the National Parliament. A Presidential candidate needs more than 50 per cent of votes cast overall and at least 20 per cent of votes in more than half the country’s provinces to win.”

The report also noted that “On February 14, 2024, Indonesia successfully conducted simultaneous elections. It was termed as the world’s largest single day elections since nearly 200 million people voted across all five levels – President, Vice-President, Members of Parliament, Members of Regional Assemblies and Municipal elections.”

India, a country of more than 1.4 billion (1,400 million / 140 crore) people, now aims to create the world record by conducting the largest-ever simultaneous elections. Whether that will happen in 2029 is not certain yet. It will first have to pass the test in Parliament.