Parliament has received the ‘One Country, One Election’ Constitution Amendment Bill. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal recommended that these bills be referred to a joint parliamentary committee after they were introduced.The Union Territories Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Constitution (One Hundred and Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2024 were presented to the Lok Sabha today. As soon as this bill was introduced in both parliaments, members of the Congress, Trinamool, and Samajwadi parties publicly opposed it.
“This proposed bill hurts the basic structure of the Constitution and if any bill comes which hurts the basic structure of the Constitution and which is ultra-hateful,” stated Kalyan Banerjee following the presentation of the One Nation, One Election Bill in the Parliament today (17th Dec).
Meghwal said that the “Constitution’s Article 327 gives rights to Parliament to decide on the process of legislative assembly elections.” and guaranteed that ONOE would not negatively impact the nation’s federal system.
The Bill’s introduction resulted in an electronic split of votes in the House. The House decided to introduce the Bill with 269 votes in favour and 198 against, and the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 p.m. If the Bill is passed without revisions, the ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea could be implemented in 2034.
Benefits of One Nation, One Election
This bill is viewed as having multiple benefits:
Financial Efficiency: nearly 1.35 lakh crore spend last year election. So, arranging elections every five years will save a lot of money on polling infrastructure, security, and administrative costs.
Focus on Governance: Since state and federal governments will no longer be in election mode all the time, there will be more time to spend on governance and development.
Decreased Political Polarisation: Political divisions are made better by frequent elections. Political stability will be maintained and unnecessary politicking will be reduced with a single election cycle.
Increase in Voter Turnout: Since voters will cast one ballot for several posts, multiple elections will promote higher voter turnout.
