The 22nd Law Commission is working on a mechanism to synchronise assembly elections with parliamentary polls and some amendments to the Constitution will be required, panel chairperson Ritu Raj Awasthi said on Friday, refusing to give a specific time frame for the recommendation.
The Union government has also set up high-powered committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, sparking a debate on an issue with far-reaching impact on politics, Constitution, and federalism.
“We are working on it and the thing is that unless we synchronise the elections of all these assemblies with the parliamentary elections, it is not possible to hold simultaneous elections. So, we are working on that and the mechanism as to how to do it…There are many ways and options,” Awasthi, also the former chief justice of the Karnataka high court, told HT.
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In response to reports that said simultaneous polls could be implemented by 2029, Awasthi said that there was no particular timeline for the exercise.
“We cannot confirm these things and there is no timeline for it. I can only say that certain amendments would be required in the Constitution to hold simultaneous elections in Parliament and assemblies.Right now, we are only working on those things that are in the domain of the Election Commission of India,” Awasthi said.
Earlier this week, the Law Commission held a high-level meeting in Delhi and submitted two reports — one on the minimum age of consent under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and another on the online filing of first information reports (FIRs) — but there was no clarity on when recommendations on simultaneous elections will be finalised. “Still some work is going on on simultaneous elections. We have not finalised the report. There is no timeline for finalising it,” Awasthi had told reporters.
India had simultaneous elections for state assemblies and the Lok Sabha until changes in electoral schedules in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The issue of holding state and national elections simultaneously is a politically loaded one. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advocated for simultaneous elections but the Opposition has said the idea might hurt federalism. Holding simultaneous elections would be ideal as well as desirable, but a workable formula is required to be provided in the Constitution, the Law Commission had concluded in its draft report in August 2018, citing detailed discussions.
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