Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tabled bills facilitating the conduct of simultaneous polls in the country on Tuesday amid stiff opposition from the INDIA bloc. As per law ministry, simultaneous polls will be implemented in the country in two phases.
The bill, officially known as the 'Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill', seeks simultaneous Lok Sabha polls and state assembly elections. In addition, the minister will also introduce the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to align the elections of the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry and the NCT of Delhi.
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As per a statement issued by the law ministry, simultaneous elections will be implemented in two phases: Phase 1 – Synchronizing Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies elections; Phase 2 – Synchronizing elections for municipalities and panchayats with Lok Sabha and state legislative elections within 100 days. According to the law ministry, as many as 32 political parties support ONOE while 15 parties oppose it.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was also a member of the high-level committee to study the implementation of simultaneous polls, is likely to table the bills in Rajya Sabha. The committee submitted its recommendations to President Droupadi Murmu in September and the cabinet approved the amendment bills last week.
