NEW DELHI: The
committee
on ‘
One Nation One Election
’, led by former President
Ram Nath Kovind
, submitted its report to President
Droupadi Murmu
on Thursday. The report is based on recommendation for electoral simultaneity by saying that bunching the contests will save the economy and society from disruptions as a result of holding frequent elections.
The High Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections met
President
Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and submitted its report comprising of 18,626 pages, and is an outcome of extensive consultations with stakeholders, experts and research work of 191 days, since its constitution on 2 September, 2023.
Elections are due in some parts or another each year. In certain states, given multiple elections to panchayats and local bodies, as many as 200-300 days in a year are consumed by polls.
The move will, however, require multiple changes — from standardising of the electoral rolls to amending the laws and Constitution — for which a roadmap has been provided in the recommendations submitted.
One of the key aspects to watch will be the transition path towards the switch to one election model, given that assemblies have been elected at different times and synchronising fresh polls to all of them along with elections to Lok Sabha will require the tenure of some being readjusted. The process will be time-consuming as govt, after analysing the report, will have to undertake legislative changes.