One Nation, One Election: The parliamentary panel constituted to scrutinise the two bills on simultaneous elections held its first meeting on Wednesday. Officials from the Ministry of Law and Justice briefed members on the provisions of the proposed legislation, news agency PTI reported citing sources. The 39-member panel is chaired by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, a former Minister of State for Law. It includes members from all major political parties, such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Congress), Sanjay Jha (JD(U)), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Sanjay Singh (AAP), and Kalyan Banerjee (Trinamool Congress).
The bills under scrutiny are the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which were introduced in the Lok Sabha during the recent Winter Session and subsequently referred to the committee. Initially comprised of 31 members, the committee's size was expanded to 39 after multiple political parties expressed interest in participating. It now includes 27 members from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha.
Who are key members of committee?
Prominent members of the panel include former Union ministers Anurag Thakur, Parshottam Rupala, and Manish Tewari, along with lawmakers Anil Baluni, Bansuri Swaraj, and Sambit Patra. The committee’s deliberations are expected to play a critical role in shaping the discourse on simultaneous elections, a proposal aimed at aligning polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and other bodies to streamline governance and reduce electoral expense.
Is concept of 'One Nation, One Election' new in India?
It should be noted here that 'One Nation, One Election' is not a new concept in India. Following the adoption of the Constitution in 1950, elections for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies were held simultaneously every five years between 1951 to 1967. The polls were held simultaneously for the Centre and states in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967. The process came to an end as new states began to form and some old ones were reorganized. Following the dissolution of various legislative assemblies in 1968–1969, this practice was entirely abandoned.
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