Context: On the show today, we will talk about One Nation, One Election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again advocated 'One Nation, One Election' system and a single voters' list, saying that elections taking place every few months hinders development. Addressing the concluding session of the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference via video conference on the 71st Constitution Day, the Prime Minister made a strong pitch for simultaneous elections. He said `One Nation, One Election' is not just an issue of deliberation, but also the need of the country.

Key Points

• Mr. Modi was addressing the concluding session of the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference via videoconference. 
• The Prime Minister also asked the presiding officers attending the meet to apply their mind to simplify the language of statute books and allow for an easier process to weed out redundant laws.

History of One Nation One Election

• One Nation One Election is not a unique experiment in our country.
• Simultaneous elections have been conducted for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies simultaneously in India in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967.
• This practice was discontinued in 1968-69, because some Legislative Assemblies were dissolved earlier due to various reasons.
• Since then India is trying hard to adopt the old election system but there is no consensus among the political parties.

Elections in India

• Currently, elections to the state assemblies and the Lok Sabha are held separately — that is whenever the incumbent government’s five-year term ends or whenever it is dissolved due to various reasons.
• This applies to both the state legislatures and the Lok Sabha. The terms of Legislative Assemblies and the Lok Sabha may not synchronize with one another.
• For instance, Rajasthan faced elections in late 2018, whereas Tamil Nadu will go to elections only in 2021.

Simultaneous Elections

• But the idea of “One Nation, One Election” envisages a system where elections to all states and the Lok Sabha will have to be held simultaneously.
• This will involve the restructuring of the Indian election cycle in a manner that elections to the states and the centre synchronize.
• This would mean that the voters will cast their vote for electing members of the LS and the state assemblies on a single day, at the same time (or in a phased manner as the case may be).

Advantages

• Help keep a check on the poll expenses, party expenses, etc. and also save public money.
• Reduce the burden on administrative setup and security forces.
• Ensure timely implementation of the government policies and also ensure that the administrative machinery is engaged in developmental activities rather than electioneering.
• Solve the problem of governance on the part of the politicians who are ruling. It is generally seen that for short term political gains from a particular assembly election, ruling politicians avoid taking a harsh long term decision which can ultimately help the country in the long run.
• Provide more time to all the stakeholders i.e. political parties, Election Commission of India (ECI), paramilitary forces, civilians for the preparation of elections once in five years.

Challenges

• The synchronisation is a major problem considering the traditions and conventions that India’s Parliamentary system follows. The government is accountable to the Lower House and it is possible that the government can fall before completing its term and the moment the government falls, there has to be an election.
• It is difficult to convince and bring together all the political parties on the idea.
• For holding simultaneous elections, the requirements for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) will double as the ECI has to provide two sets (one for election to the Legislative Assembly and second for that to the Lok Sabha).
• There will also be an additional requirement of the polling staff and for better security arrangements.

Constitutional Amendments needed for simultaneous Elections

• The term of the Lok Sabha and that of the State Legislative Assemblies needs to be synchronized so that the election to both can be held within a given span of time.
• For instance, the term of the present Lok Sabha will go up to 2024, but elections to some of the legislative assembly had already taken place last year and some are due this year (for e.g. Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand).

The constitutional amendment would be needed in

• Article 83: It states that the term of the Lok Sabha will be five years from the date of its first sitting.
• Article 85: It empowers the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha.
• Article 172: It states that the term of the legislative assembly will be five years from the date of its first sitting.
• Article 174: It empowers the Governor of the state to dissolve the Legislative Assembly.
• Article 356: It authorizes the Central Government to impose President’s Rule for failure of constitutional machinery in the state.

Additional Information
All India Presiding Officers Conference

• The All India Presiding Officers Conference began in 1921.
• The theme of this year's conference is ‘Harmonious Coordination between Legislature, Executive and Judiciary- Key to a Vibrant Democracy’.
• The two-day conference has been organized by Lok Sabha to celebrate Constitution Day on November 26.

Road Ahead

• The constitution of India has essentially prescribed a federal structure of state governance. As we are aware that there are several levels of government such as Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha besides, state governments, Municipal Corporations and the Panchayats, which are forms of local governance.
• If all stakeholders come together and work towards a workable solution then the " One Nation-One Election" indeed a welcome and advantage step for India in the longer run.