First step to simultaneous polls: Kovind panel shares contours of synchronising Lok Sabha, assembly, local body elections

Then, as the second step, municipality and panchayat elections should be held within 100 days of the Lok Sabha and state elections.

According to sources, if the new government elected after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls accepts the Kovind committee’s recommendation and immediately initiates the process, the first simultaneous polls could be held as early as 2029. During this transition period, all states with elections due between June 2024 and May 2029 would see their terms expire alongside the 18th Lok Sabha. Consequently, some state assemblies would have terms of less than five years as a one-time measure to facilitate this synchronisation.

Simultaneous Elections Report 2024 by Express Web on Scribd

In other words, major states such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which are due for elections in 2026, or Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh in 2027, or Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana in 2028, will all have their terms expire alongside the 18th Lok Sabha in 2029 to achieve synchronicity.

“The new government, once elected, will need to determine the starting point for implementing simultaneous elections. If the government aims to conduct simultaneous polls in 2029, preparations would commence immediately after this year’s Lok Sabha polls. Alternatively, if the government targets 2034, the appointed date would be identified soon after the 2029 Lok Sabha polls,” a panel member told The Indian Express. “The committee cannot recommend a specific starting point to the government; we have only proposed the formula.”

To ensure that synchronicity is not disrupted due to the premature dissolution of the Parliament or a state assembly due to a no-confidence motion, a hung House or any other event, the committee has suggested that fresh elections should be conducted only for the remainder of the term, or the “unexpired term”, until the next cycle of simultaneous polls is due.

The committee also recommended that Article 325 of the Constitution be amended to enable preparation of a single electoral roll and single Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) by the Election Commission of India, in consultation with the State Election Commissions.

To enable municipal and panchayat elections to be held simultaneously with the others, the committee recommended an Article 324A, which states that Parliament may make a law to ensure that elections to municipalities and panchayats be held together with General Elections.

“Certainty is important for decisions central to good governance which leads to faster development. On the other hand, uncertainty invariably leads to policy paralysis. The recommendations of the HLC which inter alia include synchronisation of elections in all three tiers of government, namely the House of the People, the State Legislative Assemblies, Municipalities and the Panchayats, serve to forge an improved architecture of the governance,” the report states.

The committee, set up on September 2, 2023, included Home Minister Amit Shah, former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission chairperson N K Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary-general Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.

The report said committee member Subhash C. Kashyap had recommended the concept of “constructive vote of no-confidence”, which is the model in Germany, where to bring a no-confidence motion against a government, a positive vote of confidence in an alternate leader or government is required. However, the report added, the committee did not agree with Kashyap’s proposal.

“In respect of no confidence motion and the proposal of constructive vote of no confidence of Dr. Kashyap, the Committee is of the considered opinion that the prevailing Parliamentary practice in this regard is appropriate and does not require any change. Making a motion of no confidence by the Members of the Parliament is not only their right, but also their responsibility. The Committee would not like to dilute this feature of the Indian Parliamentary system.”