The committee is chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
A new committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind will look into whether India could have a “one nation, one election” system or simultaneous national and state elections across the country, sources said today, marking a major advance in the long-debated proposal. . multiple panels.
The transition comes a day after the Center announced an emergency session of Parliament from 18-22. in September without publishing the agenda. The surprise announcement was followed by intense speculation that a “one nation, one election” bill would be introduced in the session, but no one in the government confirmed this.
One nation, one election refers to the holding of Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously across the country, as in the first rounds of elections in India. The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have spoken about the issue many times and it was also part of the party’s manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Simultaneous voting was common in India until 1967, and four elections were held this way. The practice ended with the premature dissolution of some parliaments in 1968-1969. The Lok Sabha was also dissolved for the first time in early 1970 and by-elections were held in 1971.
The BJP, in its manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, promised to develop a method to hold parliamentary and assembly elections simultaneously. Page 14 of the manifesto said, “BJP is committed to introduce electoral reforms to weed out criminals. BJP is working in consultation with other parties to work out a method to hold parliamentary and assembly elections simultaneously. Apart from reducing the cost of elections, this will ensure some stability and political parties as well as to government to state governments. We are also looking at a review of expenditure limits.” realistically.”
According to experts, implementation of the “one nation, one election” proposal requires a constitutional amendment and the support of two-thirds of the members in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Parliamentary elections in five states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram – are scheduled for November-December and Lok Sabha elections for May next year.
