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Prologue
The issue of Holding Joined elections to Lok Sabha & State Legislative Assemblies in public domain for very long time. Recently, Prime minister Shri Narendra Modi has suggested that the political parties should consider seriously the possibility of holding all elections to state and central legislatures all together, once in every five years.
What are the advantages?
- Simultaneous elections would save resources, both of the government and of political parties.
- It will keep alive the enthusiasm of voters.
- The business of governance at the Centre could improve by not having to worry about how a measure proposed by the Centre would affect the outcome of the upcoming state election.
- Repeated enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) can be avoided. MCC is a set of legally binding does and doesn’t for the Union/State governments, political parties, and candidates, which on repeated enforcement impacts effective governance.
Why is it against democratic values?
- The idea of holding simultaneous state and central elections is not practical without constricting democratic space.
- India started off with simultaneous elections to state assemblies and Parliament. They diverged as a result of political developments that terminated the life of certain state legislatures before their full term or life for some state legislatures need to extend.
- Sometimes, a government could lose the confidence of the House because of serious differences of opinion within the ruling party or a realignment of political forces. Such developments, though disruptive, reflect political conflicts that are integral to democracy.
Why are separate elections desirable?
- Apart from issues of funding and logistics, simultaneous elections would give governments immunity from the everyday pressures of public opinion.
- The present practice of an election in some state or the other every year or so often forces governments to reconsider their plans and policies.
- Given the federal nature of the Indian union and the diversity of the country, this is desirable.
- Electoral reforms are crucial to combating corruption but these also need to be done in a manner that does not tamper with the basic structure of India’s parliamentary democracy.
To look into the matter of holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha & State Legislative Assemblies.A standing committee was formed. The Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice (Chairperson: Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan) submitted its report on the „Feasibility of Holding Simultaneous Elections to House of People (Lok Sabha) and State Legislative Assemblies‟ on December 17, 2015.
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