The desirability of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas has been discussed at various levels. A considered view is that simultaneous elections will ...
The desirability of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas has been discussed at various levels. A considered view is that simultaneous elections will not only keep alive the enthusiasm of voters, but will also result in huge savings to the public exchequer as well as avoiding repetition of administrative effort. It is also expected to control the expenses of political parties. Simultaneous elections will also avoid repeated enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct which affects administrative actions by the government.
President of India, His Excellency Shri Pranab Mukherjee has also expressed his views on the desirability of holding simultaneous elections. Speaking at a recent function, The President said that “With some election or the other throughout the year, normal activities of the government come to a standstill because of code of conduct. This is an idea the political leadership should think of. If political parties collectively think, we can change it.... The Election Commission can also put in their idea and efforts on holding the polls together and that will be highly beneficial”
Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has spoken several times on considering the feasibility of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. In two recent TV discussions, the Prime Minister reiterated this idea and invited a national debate on the issue.
Debate on the Issue - A Brief History
In India, simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha (House of The People) and Vidhan Sabhas (State Legislative Assemblies) were organized in the years 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967. Thereafter, however, the schedule could not be maintained and the elections to the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabhas have still not been realigned.
The next General Election to the Lok Sabha is scheduled for 2019. Elections for the Vidhan Sabhas of 5 States are scheduled for 2017, for 13 States in 2018, for 9 States in 2019, for 1 State 2020 and the remaining are scheduled for 2021.
The issue of simultaneous elections was debated by the Law Commission in its 107thReport in 1999 (Reform of Electoral Laws) , where in it was mentioned that – “The rule ought to be one election once in five years for Lok Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies” ( Para 7.2.1.1 of the Report). Recently, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice presented its 79th Report on ‘Feasibility of holding Simultaneous Elections to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and State Legislative Assemblies’ on 17th December 2015.
Several structural changes will need to be done in case a decision is made to conduct simultaneous election, including possibility of Constitutional amendments to Articles 83, 172, 85 and 174 to streamline the process.
Seventy Ninth Report Parliamentary Standing Committee for PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES, LAW AND JUSTICEMyGov Discussion
MyGov invites citizens, Parliamentarians, Members of Legislative assemblies and councils, constitutional experts, academics experts, bureaucrats, social media influencers, Think Tanks and all other interested people to give their considered view on the subject. The issues that can be considered while formulating a view are (only an indicative list and not exhaustive):
1. Is it desirable to hold simultaneous elections? What are the pros and cons?
2. If simultaneous elections are held, then for the first time what happens to assemblies whose scheduled tenure either ends before or after the proposed date of holding elections?
3. Should the term of Lok Sabha and assemblies be fixed?
4. What would happen in case by-elections are necessitated in between terms?
5. What happens in case the ruling party or coalition loses majority in between term, either in Lok Sabha or in State assemblies?
You may submit your opinion by either writing in the comment box below, or by attaching a PDF document, or through a Youtube video.
The last for submitting your opinion is 15th October, 2016.
In Gujarat Schools are forcing the children to get A ADDHAR & open bank account.
What is the meaning of getting ADDHAR card of Schooling children and getting open their accounts in banks ?
Can anyone clarify me the vision behind it.
my dear prime minister i see you in t.v. many people arround you they click photo with you and post on social media i want to know kya muje bhi aapke sath photo click krne ka mauka milega
Yes "think for the nation", both state and country elections should be simulteneous. Lot of money can be saved which will improve our country's economics.
Theoretically and financially, its a good idea, it will lead to much more order and reduce expenses.
But we must all realise that it will lead to merging of mindset with which people vote in Loksabha and in Vidhansabha election.
Both are fought on different issues, regional issues are different and are as important to local people as national issues.
Simultaneous election would be unfairly unfavourable to regional parties, as they don't generally have pan-India outlook.
It is desirable to hold simultaneous elections to Parliament and assemblies. the political leadership will no longer be in election mode all through the five years in one state or other and not finding time for governance.
Tenure of assemblies should be co-terminus with the Parliament in the first instance. Bring in legislation to this effect.
There should be stricter anti-defection laws in place to ensure that the elected government has a mandate to rule for a fixed term.
I think simultaneous elections to the Loksabha and assembly is an excellent idea. That way the govt that is formed in state and Center will have some connections and will work together and complement each other. It will also save crores in expenditure for the conduct of the elections. It will also save many man-hours for the staff on duty and security staff.
yeah it will be good for country because political parties are always busy in their election companion there focus on the country is less due to repeatative election simultaneously election will help out in making such issue
If you have elections simultaneously, it would save the country from repeated breaks caused by election notifications when no development works or announcements can take place. It would also help in installing both state and central government of the same party which would ensure better coordination.
