Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sep 1: The government has established a commission under the leadership of former president Ram Nath Kovind to investigate the viability of “One Nation One Election,” which seeks to hold general and state elections concurrently.
The action was taken the day after news broke that the government might present a “One Nation, One Election” bill during the special session of Parliament, which is slated to take place from September 18 to 22.
A notification regarding the panel’s members will be released later.
The formation of the panel creates the opportunity for the Lok Sabha elections to be moved early this year in order to coincide with a number of assembly elections.
Ram Nath Kovind is reportedly planning to talk with experts and leaders of several political parties on the matter.
The former President will also examine the exercise’s viability and the mechanism to determine how the nation might once again hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, as was the case till 1967.
Parliament’s Monsoon session ended on August 11.
‘One Nation, One Election’ refers to the concept of holding elections simultaneously across the nation.
This means that elections for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies will be held concurrently throughout India, with voting likely occurring at the same time.
Since taking office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a vocal supporter of the “One Nation One Election” initiative, noting the financial load and disruption to development efforts imposed by the ongoing election cycle.
After becoming President in 2017, Kovind had also reiterated Modi’s viewpoint and stated his support for the concept.
The special session of Parliament would be the first one of its kind in the nine years of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On June 30, 2017, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha held a special joint sitting to commemorate the midnight launch of the GST.
While both Houses will convene separately as they typically do during sessions, this time it will be a full-fledged five-day session.
