Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram stated on Tuesday that simultaneous elections would not be feasible in 2029 even if the One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill were passed by Parliament.
In a post on X, he revealed that he had provided evidence before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on ONOE, asserting that the Bill violated the basic structure of the Constitution. He wrote, “I am grateful for the opportunity to present my views to the JPC on ONOE I am not at liberty to disclose my evidence to the JPC but the basic thrust of my deposition was that the Bill violated the basic features of the Constitution, especially the tenets of parliamentary democracy in a federal country.”
Responding to the reported statement of the JPC Chairman claiming that simultaneous polls were possible in 2029, Chidambaram said, “I am afraid his view is wrong and goes against the text of the Bill. Even if the Bill is passed (which is very unlikely), the ‘appointed date’ under the Bill can only be a date ‘after a general election.’”
He further explained, “The next general election will take place in 2029. Hence, simultaneous elections are not possible in 2029, which is a blessing. The Congress and other Opposition parties will mount a nationwide campaign against the Bill, which is a Constitutional monstrosity in parliamentary democracy in a federal country.”
Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee examining the One Nation One Election Bill received several suggestions during its deliberations on Monday. Sources reported that two public policy institutions recommended replacing subjective discretion with defined, judicially traceable grounds for deferring state assembly polls, along with fixed outer limits.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to synchronize elections for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies as part of the One Nation, One Election reform. The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is also part of this framework designed to facilitate the implementation of simultaneous elections nationwide.
Introduced on December 17, 2024, in the Lok Sabha and referred to the JPC for further scrutiny, these Bills collectively aim to establish simultaneous elections across the country. The Joint Parliamentary Committee has conducted multiple study visits and meetings with experts, including a recent study visit to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in July.