A committee examining the impact of simultaneous elections in India has released its findings, recommending a return to the system of simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.
The committee found that holding multiple elections throughout the year significantly burdens the government, businesses, voters, and civil society. This burden disrupts economic activity, strains resources, and hinders political stability. The committee headed by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind, the panel also includes Home Minister Amit Shah, former leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission chairman N K Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash Kashyap, and senior advocate Harish Salve.
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After examination of all relevant evidence, including the macroeconomic analysis, the Committee finds that the loss of simultaneity in elections after the first two decades of India's independence has had a baneful effect on the economy, polity and society. Initially, two elections were held every ten years. This greatly burdens the Government, businesses, workers, Courts, political parties, candidates contesting elections, and civil society. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Government must develop a legally tenable mechanism in order to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections, a relase read.
The Committee recommends that simultaneous elections to the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies be held in the first step. In the second step, the elections to Municipalities and Panchayats will be synchronized with the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies in such a way that elections to Municipalities and Panchayats are held within a hundred days of the holding of elections of the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies, as metioned in the released.
For the purpose of synchronising elections to the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies, the Committee recommends that the President of India may, by notification issued on the date of the first sitting of the House of the People after a General election, bring into force the provision of this Article, and that date of the notification shall be called the Appointed date.
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And the tenure of all State Legislative Assemblies, constituted by-elections to the State Legislative Assemblies after the Appointed date and before the expiry of the full term of the House of the People, shall be only for the period ending up to the subsequent General elections to the House of the People. Thereafter, all General elections to the House of the People and all State Legislative Assemblies shall be held together simultaneously, as recommended by the committee.
For this purpose, the Committee also recommends that an Implementation Group be constituted to investigate the execution of the committee's recommendations.