Centre on Friday announced that it has constituted a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of ‘one nation, one election’. An official notification on the members of the panel will be issued later. The move comes a day after the government called a special session of Parliament between September 18 and 22, the agenda for which is under wraps.
The concept of ‘One Nation, One Election’ refers to holding simultaneous elections across the country. This means that elections for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies across India will be held simultaneously, with voting presumably taking place around the same time.
Over the years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed strongly for the idea of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, and the decision to task Kovind to look into it underscores the government’s seriousness as a host of elections approach.