Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reiterated the idea of simultaneous elections and called for a national debate and President Pranab Mukherjee has supported the idea.
“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”, Mukherjee said .
Is it desirable to hold simultaneous elections? What are the pros and cons? 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?
Should the term of the Lok Sabha and Assemblies be fixed? What would happen in case by-elections are necessitated in between terms? What happens in case the ruling party or coalition loses majority in between term, either in the Lok Sabha or in Assemblies?
The considered view is that simultaneous elections will not only keep alive the enthusiasm of voters, but will lighten the financial and administrative strain on the government/Election Commission machinery. If it is done will it be done from 2019. Then what about the 5 year term of the Assemblies formed in 2017?
Simultaneous elections will also avoid repeated enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), a set of legally binding dos and don’ts for the Union/State governments, political parties and candidates, which is operational from the date of public announcement of general election or an Assembly election. It has been a subject of debate for several years, particularly the merit of its enforcement from the date of announcement rather than the date of notification of the poll schedule, and its adverse impact on effective governance.
A unique feature of the amended MCC, on the basis of a 2013 Supreme Court judgment, is that the manifestos of political parties should reflect the rationale behind the promises.
With some election or the other throughout the year, normal activities of the government come to a standstill because of the code of conduct.
The founding fathers of India had envisaged simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas. The practice continued till 1967, when it got derailed due to dissolution of some Assemblies after the imposition of Central rule under Article 356 of the Constitution.
The next Lok Sabha election is scheduled for 2019. Elections to the Assemblies of five States are over for 2017, for 13 States in 2018, 9 States in 2019, 1 State in 2020 and the remaining the next year.
The Law Commission, in its 107th Report in 1999 (Reform of Electoral Laws), said, “The rule ought to be one election once in five years for the Lok Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies”.
On December 17 last, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its 79th Report said several structural changes will need to be done in case a decision is made to conduct simultaneous election, including the possibility of Constitutional Amendments to Articles 83, 172, 85 and 174 to streamline the process.
Advantages:
1. Less Financial burden on exchequer in terms of cost of conducting frequent election
2. More focus on governance – The elected political parties remain in election mode and focus less on development and governance
3. Less targeted populist measures to win the vote banks in States going for a poll- The system lead to indulging in short-term populist measures, not useful in the long run.
Why this the option-
1. Culture of vote-bank politics and freebies can be reduced.
2. Fiscal deficit
3. Increasing number of multi-States parties
Reasons for not considering the option-
1. Diversity- which warrants different needs and policies. The simultaneous elections may neglect minute needs.
2. Unpredictability in term- The Indian political system warrants high accountability and thus term of elected government is unpredictable (especially with coalition system)
3. Increased accountability- The frequent elections leads to multiple evaluations of the government of the day.
4. Capability to conduct simultaneous elections- The exercise would require huge manpower ,security and Election Commission) and any deficiency of which may question the credibility of the election process.
