Synchronized elections of state assemblies and general assembly
Conducting both Lok sabha and state assembly elections at a time once in five years is termed to be simultaneous or synchronized elections. Simultaneous elections should ideally indicate that elections to all three tiers of constitutional institutions are held in a coordinated and synchronized manner. This practically means that on a single day, a voter casts his vote for members of the government at all levels. During the first two decades after Independence that is before 1967, it used to be simultaneous, and once again it came into a discussion when the Law Commission of India along with the Election Commission has also expressed its support for the simultaneous elections. In its 79th report (presented to Parliament in December 2015), the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice looked at the feasibility of having simultaneous Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly elections.
Between 1951-1967
In 1951-52, the first general elections for the Lok Sabha and all state legislatures were held simultaneously. This pattern was repeated in three successive general elections, in 1957, 1962, and 1967. However, due to the premature dissolution of certain Legislative assemblies, the cycle was disturbed for the first time in the 1968 and 1969 Legislative Assemblies. The Fourth Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely in 1970, and new elections were conducted in 1971.
Simultaneous elections - legal and constitutional perspective
Law commission headed by Justice B.S Chauhan former judge of Supreme court of India with other members under the ministry of law and justice of GOI recommended that:
It is a good way to keep the country out of the election mode.
It will help the government save money while also easing the pressure on the administration and security personnel.
"Some unavoidable constitutional modifications" are recommended in the plan.
The Commission's analysis of the financial implications, logistical issues, the impact of the Model Code of Conduct, and constitutional and legal provisions in relation to holding simultaneous elections in India
The Commission has taken great effort to ensure that any suggestions it makes are in accordance with constitutional norms.
The Commission stated that great care was taken in developing the recommendations to ensure that people's rights were not jeopardized in any way.
Reasons why simultaneous elections are not going to happen very soon:
Terms of different state governments are ending on separate dates in different years.
Constitutional Amendments
Legal Amendments
Focusing on the Constitutional and Legal amendments :
Constitutional amendments: No steps have been taken yet to amend the constitution to facilitate simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislatures.
Articles to focus on :
Article 83: Which provides for the Tenure of Both the houses of Parliament 83(2) Provides 5-year tenure of Lok sabha. (from the date of first sitting)*
Article 172 (1): It deals with 5-year tenure of the state legislature (from the date of first sitting)*
A similar kind of amendment in Emergency provisions deals with the extension of terms of houses to give uniformity to both state legislative assembly and Lok sabha.
Article 85 (2)(b): It provides power to the President to dissolve Lok sabha.
Article 174 (2)(b): Similar to Article 85 (2)(b) here Governor has the power to dissolve State legislative assembly.
Article 356:It is also relevant when it comes to premature dissolution of state legislative assembly where the Union government can take direct control of the state machinery if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional provisions.
Legal Amendments: Like in constitutional amendments there has been no attempt to alter the law to allow for simultaneous elections.
The Representation of People Act 1951, which governs the country's election procedures, also needs to be changed. The notice of General Elections to the Lok Sabha is governed by Section 14 of the Act
The concept should be debated primarily around four issues:
The financial burden on conducting elections.
Administrative disturbances due to elections.
Political party campaign and financial cost.
Concerns of Local parties and local issues.
Conclusion :
After going through lots of reports by commissions and committees the main concern of this system of election is that it will ease the government's financial burden and will lead to a better and more effective administration.
Talking about financial burden there are several reports which claim that a single state legislative election costs approximately 200-300 crore rupees (INR). Similarly, you can survey any group of people whether they have faced any issues or delay in any time of administrative works during the election period or not. You will definitely get a big yes from them. But giving a conclusion like that isn't what we can rely on. Making it more practical, think practically how any departments can work effectively when 50-70% of their staff are busy with election duty. In simultaneous elections, they will also get busy but the difference is that they will not get busy frequently as of now in the always election mood.
Even after knowing all these things, we should keep a close eye on the fact that due to the simultaneous election no harm should be there to one of the basic and peculiar features of our Constitution is Federalism. Along with that focus should be on the local issues which were raised by local /regional parties, they act as an agent of a better and pure democracy as they raise local issues and they better connect with people, the ultimate unit of democracy.
________________By Sidharth Shankar ________________________
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. niti.gov.in
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