Cabinet Nod To Bills For Concurrent Polls: Sources

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved bills to implement 'One Nation, One Election', and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session, sources said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government is keen on holding wider consultations on bills which are likely to be re-ferred to a parliamentary committee. Sources said the government was also keen to consult the Speakers of various state legislative assemblies through the committee.

Moving ahead with its 'one nation, one election' plan, the government in September accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner. Citing recommendations of the high-level committee, sources had said one of the proposed bills would seek to amend Article 82A by add-ing sub-clause (1) relating to the appointed date.

It will also seek to insert sub-clause (2) to Article 82A relating to the end of terms of the Lok Sa-bha and state legislative assemblies together. It also proposes to amend Article 83(2) and insert new sub-clauses (3) and (4) relating to the duration and dissolution of the Lok Sabha. It also has provisions related to the dissolution of the legislative assemblies and amending Article 327 to in-sert the term simultaneous elections. This bill will not require ratification by at least 50 per cent of the states, the recommendation said.

However, any move to hold local body elections together with Lok Sabha and state assemblies will require ratification by at least 50 per cent of the state assemblies as it deals with matters re-lating to state affairs. Another bill will be an ordinary one to amend provisions in three laws deal-ing with Union territories having legislative assemblies -- Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir -- to align the terms of these Houses with other legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha as proposed in the first constitutional amendment bill.

The statutes it proposes to amend are the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act-1991, the Government of Union Territories Act-1963 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisa-tion Act-2019. The proposed bill will be an ordinary legislation not requiring a change in the Con-stitution and will also not need ratification by the states.