Simultaneous elections: Law Commission begins work on formula

The Law Commission is working on a formula so that all state elections can be held along with the Lok Sabha polls from 2029.

This will be done by synchronising all assembly elections by extending or reducing the tenure of various legislatures, informed sources told PTI. The government has set up a high-level panel to explore simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies.

The Law Commission may also be asked to include the third tier of elections along with its current mandate for national and state-level polls, the sources said. The simultaneous elections, based on a common electoral roll, will reduce the cost and use of manpower for the gigantic nationwide exercise.

The Law Commission’s report on simultaneous elections is not ready as some issues are yet to be settled, the sources said.

One election

For synchronising assembly elections so that state and Lok Sabha elections are held together from 2029, the Commission may suggest reducing or enhancing the tenure of legislative assemblies.

Accordingly, voters will go to the polling booth only once to cast their ballot for both the elections. As of now, the mandate of the Law Commission is to suggest ways to hold assembly and Lok Sabha elections together.

But a high-level committee under former president Ram Nath Kovind has been tasked with recommending how Lok Sabha, assembly and local body elections can be held together.

The ambit of the Law Commission can also be increased to include holding local body polls along with national and state polls, the sources said.

Two phases

One suggestion the law panel can make is to hold the three-tier polls in two phases in one year.

In the first phase, Lok Sabha and assembly elections can be held; in the second phase, local body polls can be organised.

In August 2018, the previous Law Commission had endorsed the Modi government’s proposal to hold simultaneous balloting to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, saying it will prevent the country from being in constant election mode.

But it had sought further public discourse on the issue before arriving at a final decision. The panel in its draft report had also said the exercise cannot be held in the present constitutional framework.

(With agency inputs)