Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 8: The first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on One Nation, One Election will take place here on Wednesday.
The JPC has been tasked with reviewing the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seek to align national and state-level elections.
Wednesday’s meeting will focus on introducing members to the two key bills. Officials from the Ministry of Law & Justice (Legislative Department) will brief the Committee on the provisions of the proposed legislation. JPC Chairman P.P. Chaudhary has called the meeting.The One Nation, One Election Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17.
The JPC, chaired by BJP's P.P. Chaudhary, includes 39 members—27 from Lok Sabha and 12 from Rajya Sabha.The committee has been formed to examine the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ legislation. Its primary role will be to assess the feasibility and framework for conducting simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
The committee will also evaluate synchronizing elections in Union Territories, including Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir, with the Lok Sabha elections.
The JPC consists of members such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Congress), Anurag Thakur and Anil Baluni (BJP), along with opposition leaders like Kalyan Banerjee (TMC) and Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party). The discussions and recommendations made by the committee will play a crucial role in shaping the future of India’s electoral process.
The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Law Minister Arjun Meghwal, following a debate lasting nearly 90 minutes. After a division of votes, the Bill was approved with 269 MPs voting in favour and 198 voting against. The Bills were subsequently referred to the committee for further scrutiny.
The Lok Sabha MPs in the committee include P.P. Chaudhary, C.M. Ramesh, Bansuri Swaraj, Parshottam Rupala, Anurag Singh Thakur, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Sambit Patra, Anil Baluni, Vishnu Datt Sharma, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Tewari, Sukhdeo Bhagat, Dharmendra Yadav, Kalyan Banerjee, T.M. Selvaganapathi, GM Harish Balayogi, Supriya Sule, Shrikant Shinde, Chandan Chauhan, and Balashowry Vallabhaneni.
While the government supports the idea of simultaneous elections to streamline governance and reduce costs, opposition parties have raised concerns about its impact on the federal structure. The JPC will be instrumental in addressing these concerns and building consensus on this significant electoral reform.