Union Cabinet clears 'One Nation, One Election' proposal, comprehensive bill soon

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal for the ‘One nation, One Election'. The BJP-led government is likely to bring a comprehensive bill on the same.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal for the ‘One nation, One Election', reports said. The BJP-led government is likely to bring a comprehensive bill on the same. The bill is likely to be introduced in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

Holding simultaneous polls was one of the key promises made by the BJP in its Lok Sabha poll manifesto.

The government is looking to form consensus on the bill and may send it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee or JPC for detailed discussions, reports add.

The development comes weeks after the government accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee, which was headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind. The panel has suggested holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner.

However, the move faced opposition from several INDIA bloc parties like the Congress and AAP, who alleged that it would benefit the ruling party at the Centre. Major NDA allies, like Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Chirag Paswan, have backed simultaneous elections.

The next step involves synchronising elections to local bodies and municipalities with polls to Lok Sabha and states. This will be done in such a way that the local body elections are held within 100 days of the Lok Sabha polls. This will, however, require approval by not less than one-half of the states.

The committee has recommended 18 constitutional amendments for One Nation One Election to become a reality