The Centre has begun the process of deliberations on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, together known as the 'One Nation, One Election' Bill. On Wednesday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju sought recommendations from all parties for members to be included in the Joint Parliamentary Committee that would be constituted for deliberations on the Bill.


The Bill passed a vote for introduction in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with 269 votes in its favour. As many as 198 MPs were against its introduction. Immediately after it was introduced, the government recommended it to be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for deliberations and changes.






The essence of the Bill is to conduct simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections and hold local body polls within a month. The government argues that this would streamline the election process, reduce election costs, and increase the efficiency of implementing government projects.


The Opposition, on the other hand, says that implementing a simultaneous elections policy would benefit only the ruling party and undermine the essence of a democracy. The Opposition also argues that this would implement a presidential form of democracy and would completely obliterate the importance of regional parties.