One Nation, One Election: Revisiting the Idea of Jemili Elections in India

The concept of simultaneously conducting the national elections (Lok Sabha) and all state assembly elections is known in India as Jemili elections and is also known as One Nation, One Election. This was so in India, 195152, until 1967 when it was abandoned following numerous dissolutions of state assemblies in 196869. The concept of simultaneous elections has also gotten renewed interest since the 2010s, following the establishment of a High-Level Committee in September 2023 by former President Ram Nath Kovind to examine whether it is practically possible. In 2024, the committee report was submitted and published, and then a Constitution Amendment Bill (129th Amendment) was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024, to effect this change.Proponents of this suggestion suppose that it will assist money in contests, decrease the lengthy utilisation of officials and security forces, and delay in governance attributable to repetitive election codes of conduct. There are also some recent reports that vast resources are necessary, like many crore-scale EVMs and several thousand crore rupees, in case elections were held at the same time in future. The critics, however, say that conducting elections simultaneously would place too much power in their central government, dilute the voices of the regions and disrupt the federal set-up in India. They warn that the efficiencies associated with simultaneous elections might be attractive but should not be at the expense of democracy and accountability. The purpose of the article is to discuss the history and background of these elections, how it might be possible to hold the elections under the constitution and logistics, and the advantages and disadvantages of the switch to simultaneous elections in India