A Joint Parliamentary Committee has been set up to review the legislative framework for the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election.' The committee includes 21 Members of Parliament from the Lok Sabha and 10 members from the Rajya Sabha, making a total of 31 members.
The committee will assess the Bill introduced by senior BJP leader and Union Minister Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill aims to amend the Constitution and related laws to enable simultaneous elections across the country for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies.
The group of 21 Lok Sabha MPs includes leaders from various political parties. Key members include former Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur and Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Other members of the committee include P.P. Chaudhary, Dr. C.M. Ramesh, Bansuri Swaraj, Parshottambhai Rupala, Vishnu Dayal, Ram Bhartruhari Mahtab, Dr. Sambit Patra, Anil Baluni, Vishnu Datt Sharma, Manish Tewari, Sukhdeo Bhagat, Dharmendra Yadav, Kalyan Banerjee, T.M. Selvaganapathi, G.M. Harish Balayogi, Supriya Sule, Dr. Shrikant, Eknath Shinde, Chandan Chauhan, Balashowry, and Vallabhaneni.
The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal aims to reduce election-related expenses and improve governance efficiency. However, the initiative has faced strong opposition from political parties. Critics in the Opposition argue that the proposal could strengthen the ruling party’s influence at the state level. They also believe it may weaken regional autonomy and limit the representation of regional political voices.
The two bills—the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024—aim to amend the Constitution and enable simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies across the country. These bills were approved by the Cabinet last week.