The Federalism Question

Simultaneous elections will lead to the mixing of national and state-level issues, which does not serve the electorate's best interests

- SY Quraishi

THE concept of holding simultaneous elections for both the Union and all the states in India has been a recurring topic of discussion and debate. In recent years, this idea has gained traction, with various stakeholders expressing their views on its feasibility as well as its potential benefits and drawbacks.

History of ‘One Election’

The notion of simultaneous elections was formally proposed by the Election Commission (EC) of India in its 1983 report. The Law Commission also recommended simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabhas and local bodies as early as in 1999, and reiterated this recommendation in 2018 underlining the constitutional implications. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani voiced his support for this idea in 2010, underscoring its usefulness. The matter underwent scrutiny by a Parliamentary standing committee in December 2015 which referred to the EC’s comments, while supporting the proposal in principle. In 2017, the Niti Aayog released a paper titled ‘Election Time Table’, suggesting a via media of two elections in five years. But this amounts to a major dilution of the original proposal of simultaneous elections at all three tiers.

Significant Concerns