Parliamentary panel to hold first meeting on 'One Nation, One Election' bills today

The parliamentary panel, to examine the two draft legislations on simultaneous elections, held its first meeting on Wednesday. The panel will examine three bills the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which were introduced in the Lok Sabha during the recently concluded Winter Session.  Officials from Law ministry briefed all 39-members to understand about two proposed legislation being discussed as such. This discussion took place including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Anurag Thakur too with others during its maiden meet by the said committee.

Main Persons Involved and Reasons

Participated in the maiden session of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on ‘One Nation, One Election’ convened at the Parliament Annexe earlier today. pic.twitter.com/HczRTtVDdb

— Dr K Laxman (@drlaxmanbjp) January 8, 2025

The 39-member joint committee, led by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, represents all major parties. Chaudhary, a former Minister of State for Law, is steering the discussion to scrutinise the provisions in these bills. The committee also includes leaders like Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde, AAP's Sanjay Singh, JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha, and Kalyan Banerjee from Trinamool Congress, Dr. K Lakshman from BJP.

To accommodate the interest of other political parties, the committee's size was recently increased from 31 to 39 members. Other notable members include former Union ministers Anurag Thakur, Parshottam Rupala, and Manish Tewari, along with Anil Baluni, Bansuri Swaraj, and Sambit Patra.

Focus of the Discussions

The officials in the Ministry of Law and Justice briefed the panel members about the proposed laws which are expected to streamline the electoral process by carrying out simultaneous polls across the entire country. As part of a larger "One Nation, One Election" vision that seeks to sync parliamentary and state assembly elections.

Broader Context

The bills were presented based on growing demands to reduce the frequency of elections to save time, resources, and administrative effort. However, the move has sparked a lot of debate among political parties and constitutional experts over its feasibility and implications.

Discussions are likely to outline the future course for these legislations as the panel's first meeting gets underway. Crucial findings and recommendations from the committee are expected to determine the direction of the "One Nation, One Election" initiative.