Constitution Bill inserts new Article 82A for simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections

It aims to synchronize the five-year terms of these bodies to reduce the frequency of elections and the associated administrative burden.

Who it concerns: The President of India, the Election Commission of India, the House of the People (Lok Sabha), and all State Legislative Assemblies.

What the bill does

• Inserts a new Article 82A into the Constitution to provide for simultaneous elections.
• The President issues a notification on the date of the first sitting of the House of the People after a general election, which is designated as the 'appointed date'.
• The term of all Legislative Assemblies constituted after the appointed date ends when the full term of the House of the People expires.
• The Election Commission is required to conduct general elections to the House of the People and all Legislative Assemblies simultaneously before the expiry of the full term of the House of the People.
• If the Election Commission determines that elections to a specific Legislative Assembly cannot be held simultaneously, it may recommend to the President that those elections be conducted at a later date.
• Amends Article 83 to define the 'full term' of the House of the People as five years from its first meeting and establishes that a new House constituted after early dissolution serves only the 'unexpired term' of the previous House.
• Amends Article 172 to apply similar 'full term' and 'unexpired term' rules to State Legislative Assemblies.
• Amends Article 327 to explicitly include the 'conduct of simultaneous elections' within Parliament's power to make provisions regarding elections.

Also in the document

• This is a Constitutional Amendment Bill.
• The Bill states that the Government has accepted the recommendations of the High Level Committee chaired by former President Shri Ram Nath Kovind.
• The Bill notes that simultaneous elections were last held in 1967 and the cycle was disrupted by premature dissolutions in 1968 and 1969.