The first formal meeting of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ committee is expected to take place today, news agency ANI reported citing sources. The committee, formed to assess the practicality of simultaneous elections across various tiers of governance, will be presided over by former President Ram Nath Kovind and is scheduled to meet at his residence in the national capital.
On Saturday, the Union Law Ministry officially designated eight members to the committee under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind. The committee’s directives include a comprehensive examination of the possibility of conducting simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipal bodies, and panchayats.
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In addition to the committee’s Chairperson, the panel includes Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chairperson of the Finance Commission NK Singh, senior advocate Harish Salve, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
However, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was initially named as a member of the High-Level Committee (HLC), subsequently declined to participate on the panel. He expressed reservations, suggesting that the “terms of reference have been structured in a manner that precludes impartial conclusions.”
Government sources clarified that he agreed to join the committee before the official list of its members was released.
The constitution of this committee comes several months ahead of assembly elections in five states and in anticipation of the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has talked about the ‘One Nation, One Election’ concept on multiple occasions. In November 2020, while addressing a conference of presiding officers, he asserted, “One nation, one election is not merely a topic of debate but a pressing need for India. The country conducts elections practically every month, impeding its developmental progress. Why should our nation expend such vast resources?”
The potential implementation of ‘One Nation, One Election’ could bring about simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state legislatures across India.
