New Delhi: The high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind today submitted its report on ‘one nation, one election’.
The report was submitted to President Droupadi Murmu this morning.
The concept refers to holding simultaneous polls across the country. The proposal is to conduct elections for Lok Sabha and all state assemblies at the same time. In India, the general elections to elect the members of Parliament and state assembly polls are held separately when the tenure of the incumbent government comes to an end or it gets dissolved for some reason.
Sources say that the committee discussed the German model of constructive vote of no-confidence. This model allows a no-confidence motion against the current officeholder only if there’s a vote of confidence in a successor. However, the committee opted not to endorse this model, deeming it inconsistent with the principles of Indian democracy.
The committee might suggest changes to at least five articles of the Constitution to allow for simultaneous elections nationwide.
Formed in September last year, the purpose of the committee is to assess and propose recommendations for conducting simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities, and panchayats within the existing constitutional framework.
The committee includes members such as Home Minister Amit Shah, former Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chairman of the Finance Commission N K Singh, former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha Subhash Kashyap, and senior advocate Harish Salve.