The Rajya Sabha member and former finance and home minister appeared before the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Constitution Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws Bill, 2024, during a day of stakeholder consultations in New Delhi on Monday.
The committee also heard Padma awardees and representatives of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and Nation First Policy Research Centre, bringing competing constitutional, administrative and policy perspectives into its scrutiny of the proposal commonly described as “One Nation, One Election”.
Chidambaram argued that the bills were flawed and unconstitutional because their implementation could require the premature curtailment of legislatures elected for five-year terms. He questioned whether Parliament could alter such tenures in a manner that would affect the principles governing representative and parliamentary democracy.
A central provision of the proposed constitutional amendment would allow the President to notify the first sitting of the Lok Sabha following a general election as an “appointed date”. Assemblies elected after that date would have terms ending with the full term of the Lok Sabha, enabling subsequent parliamentary and Assembly elections to be held together.
Chidambaram raised questions over who would determine the proportional reduction or alteration of legislative tenures and whether the mechanism could withstand scrutiny under the Constitution’s basic-structure doctrine. He also questioned the parliamentary numbers required for adoption of the constitutional amendment.
Committee chairman P P Chaudhary rejected the contention that simultaneous elections necessarily violated the Constitution’s basic structure, while indicating that Chidambaram’s objections and recommendations would be considered as part of the panel’s wider examination.
The hearing underlined the widening debate over the safeguards required if the electoral cycles of the Lok Sabha and state legislatures are synchronised.
Representatives of the two policy organisations proposed tighter legal controls over circumstances in which an Assembly election could be deferred. They favoured clearly defined and legally accountable grounds instead of broad discretionary authority, together with fixed time limits and parliamentary oversight.
They also highlighted the risk of a constitutional or administrative vacuum where elections cannot be conducted on schedule. Among the ideas discussed were limits on the powers exercised during President’s Rule or by caretaker administrations, restricting them largely to routine governmental functions until an elected government assumes office.
Padma awardees appearing before the committee broadly supported the objective of simultaneous elections, subject to appropriate safeguards. Participants included former Rajya Sabha member Tarlochan Singh and historian Meenakshi Jain, who has been a nominated Rajya Sabha member since July 2025. Doctors Saumitra Rawat and Ashok Seth were among other prominent participants in the consultations.
Tarlochan Singh emphasised the need to strengthen the anti-defection framework, arguing that electoral reforms alone would have limited effect if legislators were able to change political affiliations in ways that destabilised elected governments.
Other participants highlighted the administrative consequences of elections being held at different times across the country. Their concerns included repeated deployment of government personnel, disruption of public administration and the effect of election duties and the Model Code of Conduct on government programmes.
The debate goes beyond administrative efficiency. Critics have focused on federalism, the accountability of governments to legislatures and the consequences of a Lok Sabha or Assembly losing its majority before completing its scheduled term. Supporters argue that synchronised elections could reduce repeated electoral mobilisation, government expenditure and pressure on security and administrative personnel.
Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were broadly synchronised during the first years after independence, with simultaneous polls held from 1951-52 through the 1960s. The pattern broke as several state Assemblies were dissolved prematurely and the Fourth Lok Sabha was dissolved in 1970, leading to the parliamentary election of 1971.
The two bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17, 2024. The constitutional amendment bill was admitted after a division in which 269 members supported its introduction and 198 opposed it. Parliament subsequently constituted the joint committee, chaired by Chaudhary, with representation from the government and opposition parties.
