Theme Paper

The purpose of the elections is to choose who will be in charge of government. [...] In a system of unchecked authority, then, there is no built-in protection for the legal status quo, and nothing to be gained from formalizing. [...] It was only the British who introduced the representative institutions in India and the idea of elections. The right to vote was considered a privilege by the British government. [...] The appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall, subject to the provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament. [...] In such a case, it would not have been possible to hold simultaneous country-wide general elections, both for the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies.... [...] Need for changes in constitutional and legal framework for conducting simultaneous elections: The Commission stated that simultaneous elections are not permissible within the existing framework of the Constitution. [...] The timing of such election should be conducive to all state legislatures involved and the Lok Sabha (if dissolved earlier). [...] The Constitution and the Representation of the People Act of 1951 both will need to be amended in order to implement this option. [...] The Committee observed that noted that ratification by the states will not be required for constitutional amendments pertaining to the term of state assemblies and Parliament. [...] However, constitutional amendments in relation to local bodies must be ratified by at least half of the states. The committee opined that there is need for Single electoral roll.