The Union cabinet has approved bills to implement simultaneous elections to parliament and state assemblies, sources said on Thursday, adding that draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing winter session.
The bills are now likely to be referred to a parliamentary standing committee through which the government hopes to consult Speakers of various state legislative assemblies.
‘One Nation One Election’ was one of the key poll promises of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged all political parties to join hand to make it a reality.
A government-appointed panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind had recommended simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner after a countrywide consensus-building exercise.
The government accepted the panel recommendations in September, but had not made any statement on whether a bill would be brought during the winter session. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said the government would draft a bill, place it before the cabinet and subsequently, take it to Parliament.
On Thursday, PTI quoted sources as saying that the proposed bills would seek to amend Article 82A by adding sub-clause (1) relating to the appointed date. It will also seek to insert sub-clause (2) to Article 82A relating to the end of terms of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies together.
The bills proposes to amend Article 83(2) and insert new sub-clauses (3) and (4) relating to the duration and dissolution of the Lok Sabha. It also has provisions related to the dissolution of the legislative assemblies and amending Article 327 to insert the term simultaneous elections, the report said.
