Govt plans 3 Bills to implement ‘One Nation One Poll’

A week after Union Cabinet approved the proposal for 'One Nation, One Election' as recommended by a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, the government is likely to bring three Bills in Parliament during the winter session or budget session.

- PREETHA NAIR

Of this, two Bills include amending the Constitution to put in place the government's plan to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner.

The Kovind committee had proposed simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step, and synchronised polls to local bodies within 100 days of the general election. It had recommended 15 amendments to the Constitution to be carried out through two Constitution Amendment Bills. If the government decides to carry out the Kovind committee proposal from 2029, as many as 17 states will have tenure of assemblies for less than three years.

The committee had proposed amendments to three Articles, insertion of 12 new sub-clauses in the existing Articles and tweaking three laws related to Union Territories with legislative assemblies. The total number of amendments and new insertions stands at 18.