Former CJI DY Chandrachud seeks level-playing field in ONOE plan

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud has raised some concerns about simultaneous state and parliamentary elections in his submissions to a joint parliamentary committee and called for a level-playing field between smaller and national parties, people aware of the matter said on Thursday.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

NEW DELHI:

Ex-CJI Chandrachud and another former CJI, JS Khehar, are set to attend on July 11 a meeting of the JPC examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which are intended to roll out simultaneous polls in the country, the people cited above said.

The 39-member JPC—headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader PP Chaudhary—was set up in December 2024. Although there is no time frame for the submission of the report, the term of the JPC has been extended till the first day of last week of the upcoming Monsoon Session.

The proposal to align elections—known colloquially as one nation, one election (ONOE)—was a part of the BJP's 2024 poll manifesto and is backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who argues that it will trim election costs and shift focus to governance.

But the proposal is fiercely opposed by a raft of political parties and activists who allege that it will hurt democratic accountability and federalism.