The government has accelerated its pace towards 'one country, one election' to completely change the electoral history of the country. It is reported that the Joint Committee of Parliament formed to implement this historic arrangement has started formal consultations with the Chief Ministers of all the states of the country.
The biggest twist is that the government is in no mood to wait till 2034 for this big change and is preparing to reduce the deadline for this to 2029 only. This simply means that the next general elections in the country can be seen in a completely new format, where the elections for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies will be held simultaneously.
Will all assemblies be dissolved in 2029?
If this ambitious plan of the government comes to fruition, then the assemblies of all the states of the country will have to be dissolved simultaneously at a fixed time. If we look at the current political figures, at present NDA governments are working in 22 states of the country. Of these, assembly elections are to be held in 11 states within the next two years.
There are four states in which there is a tradition of holding assembly elections along with Lok Sabha elections – which include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha. The initial goal of the committee formed on this issue in the year 2024 was to prepare a strategy till 2034, but now the strategy is being changed and the target is 2029.
The report will be presented in the winter session of Parliament
The Parliamentary Joint Committee has been studying this complex process and its legal aspects in depth for the last two years. It is expected that this committee can table its detailed report in the House in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.
Article 174 2(B) of the Indian Constitution empowers the Governor to dissolve the Legislative Assembly on the advice of the Council of Ministers. In such a situation, it will be very easy to implement this decision in the states where there are NDA governments. The Committee is closely examining various aspects of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 to conduct simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies and local bodies by 2029.
Got open support from BJP ruled Chief Ministers
This powerful committee consisting of 41 members is carrying forward the process of nationwide deliberations. A lot of enthusiasm is being seen among the Chief Ministers of BJP ruled states regarding this proposal of 'One Country, One Election'.
The chief ministers of Goa, Haryana and Uttarakhand have already openly supported the idea of holding state elections along with the Lok Sabha elections. Additionally, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also participated in an important meeting with senior members of the committee on July 1. If this law comes to ground, it will prove to be the biggest constitutional and administrative reform of independent India.