Union Cabinet approves bill for ‘one nation one election’

New Delhi: The ruling BJP  took a major step to implement its key plank of “one nation, one election” as the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the constitutional amendment bill to roll out the concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, sources said.

          Two draft legislations, including one simple bill to amend provisions in laws dealing with three Union territories with legislative assemblies to align them with the Constitution amendment bill, were given the nod by the Cabinet.

          While a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous polls had also proposed holding the municipality and panchayat elections along with the national and state elections in a phased manner, the Cabinet has decided to stay away, “as of now”, from the manner in which local body elections are conducted, the sources said.

          The prime minister is understood to have put a strong emphasis on the need for simultaneous polls for further boosting development initiatives and overall growth, points he has often made since he first made an energetic pitch for the concept in December 2016.

          The proposed bill will require a simple majority for passage in both the Houses. The government is keen on holding wider consultations on the bills and may send them to a parliamentary committee.

          The BJP’s manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls had included its commitment to the idea.

          Though BJP’s allies such as the TDP, Janata Dal (United), and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), all of whom are represented in the Union Cabinet, are supporting the concept, the National Democratic Alliance will need backing from some of the members of the opposition INDIA alliance besides fence-sitters to ensure the passage of the constitutional amendment bill requiring support from two-thirds of the members in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.