“Simultaneous election to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies will limit the amount of time and money spent in electioneering but it will reduce the government’s accountability to the people.” Discuss.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Present the savings in time, money and administrative disruption from holding elections together and set them against the risks to accountability, federal diversity and parliamentary flexibility.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Discuss the gains: time, money and administrative effort saved by simultaneous elections
- Discuss the cost: how fixed cycles may weaken the government's accountability to the people, with the federal and constitutional issues, and take a view
Open with · Simultaneous elections were, by and large, the norm until the fourth general election of 1967; early dissolutions then broke the cycle.
Cover
- Time and money: one poll cuts State and party spending, repeated security and staff deployment, and the Model Code of Conduct's freeze; India now faces five to six elections a year.
- Accountability: frequent polls are a running referendum; fixed cycles dull it, and strain Article 75(3)'s collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha.
- Federalism: national issues may swamp regional ones and State choices.
- Design: constructive no-confidence (Germany's Basic Law, Article 67) keeps a government removable without breaking the cycle.
- Since 2017: the Kovind committee (March 2024, 18,626 pages) proposed a two-step approach; the Constitution amendment Bill introduced in December 2024 went to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Close with · Simultaneous polls are worth pursuing only if the House can still remove a government that loses its confidence, keeping Article 75(3) intact.
Add value (verified)
- Simultaneous elections were by and large the norm till the 1967 general election; India now faces five to six elections a year.One Nation, One Election: Frequently Asked Questions — PIB, March 2024 ↗“Simultaneous elections were, by and large, in vogue till the fourth general elections of 1967. With the disruption of the cycle of simultaneous elections, thereafter, the country now faces five to six elections in a year.”
- The Kovind committee's report (March 2024) ran to 18,626 pages and recommended a two-step approach, Lok Sabha and Assemblies first.High Level Committee submits its report on One Nation, One Election — PIB, 14 March 2024 ↗“the Committee recommends a two-step approach to lead to the simultaneous elections. As the first step, simultaneous elections will be held for the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies.”
- Article 75(3): the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024) - Legislative Department ↗“(3) The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People.”
- Germany's Basic Law, Article 67: the Bundestag can remove the Chancellor only by electing a successor (constructive vote of no confidence).Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (English translation) — Federal Ministry of Justice ↗“The Bundestag may express its lack of confidence in the Federal Chancellor only by electing a successor by the vote of a majority of its Members”
- In the second step, Kovind committee: Municipality and Panchayat polls within hundred days of Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.High Level Committee submits its report on One Nation, One Election — PIB, 14 March 2024 ↗“Municipalities and Panchayats elections are held within hundred days of holding elections to the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 229words · Minimalist IAS
Simultaneous elections were 'by and large, in vogue' until the fourth general election of 1967; early dissolutions then broke the cycle. Reviving them trades efficiency against the voter's frequent check.
How it limits time and money spent
- Lower cost: one poll cuts State and party spending and repeated deployment of forces and officials.
- Less paralysis: India faces 'five to six elections in a year'; one Model Code of Conduct spell frees governance.
How it may reduce accountability to the people
- Fewer verdicts: mid-term polls act as running referendums; fixed cycles dull them.
- Responsibility strained: Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha; locking terms sits uneasily with this.
- Federal blurring: national issues may swamp regional ones.
| Risk | Design answer |
|---|---|
| Government falls mid-term | Constructive no-confidence |
| Hung House | Fresh poll for remaining term |
| Local polls apart | Synchronise within 100 days |
Way forward
- Kovind committee (March 2024, since this exam): its 18,626-page report proposed two steps: Lok Sabha and Assemblies first, then local bodies within 100 days.
- Constructive vote: Germany's Basic Law (Article 67) lets the Bundestag remove a Chancellor only by electing a successor.
- Consensus: a constitutional amendment Bill introduced in December 2024 (since then) went to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Simultaneous polls deserve support only if the House can still remove a government that loses its confidence: Article 75(3), not the calendar, is the test.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
