The Narendra Modi government has formed a committee under former President Ram Nath Kovind to look at the possibility of ‘One Nation One Poll’ (ONOP) in the country and the committee will hold wide consultations with political parties and states.
This shows seriousness on the part of the government to tackle the tricky issue where at least 18 states will be impacted in a major way as their state election schedule is significantly different from that of the Lok Sabha.
The route towards ONOP so far was only through the Law Commission but the government, by setting up a committee under a former President, shows it now wants to push ahead on the issue decisively. However, the ONOP Bill is not likely to come up in the Special Session of Parliament later this month. Most opposition parties are already opposing the Centre’s move.
The Challenge Before the Committee
Four states — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim — go to polls along with Lok Sabha elections. Elections in five states — Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Telangana and Rajasthan — happen about five months before the Lok Sabha elections while four other states — Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Delhi — go to polls within 5-7 months after Lok Sabha elections. It may be possible for the government to perhaps make these 13 states come on board on the idea of ONOP, top government sources have told News18.
However, the tricky part remains the 18 other states whose election schedule is very different and varied from the Lok Sabha election schedule — ranging from a difference over a year to even around four years. For instance, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat went to polls earlier this year while Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab went to polls in 2022.
Assam in fact polled in May 2021 and the government there would have completed only three years in power when the Lok Sabha elections happen. Bihar polls are next in end of 2025 while Kerala is scheduled to poll next in May 2026. West Bengal polled in May 2021 and the government there would have completed only three years by the time Lok Sabha polls are held.
Some of these 18 states are ruled by the opposition parties who may not play ball on curtailing their assembly tenures in the states. Ahead of a bitter 2024 battle, the prospects are bleak too.
The ONOP bill will also need a 2/3rd majority in both houses of Parliament and approval of 50 per cent or more state legislatures — which will be a challenging task as well. The government has also told Parliament in July that the issue requires obtaining consensus of all political parties as well as the state governments.
There are other complications too like what happens if there is a hung House after a state election and a mid-term election is needed, or if a state government falls due to a no-confidence motion as that will again disrupt the ONOP formula.
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