The Law Commission on October 25 suggested a roadmap, which includes proposed changes to the Constitution for holding simultaneous elections, before a high-level committee headed by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
The panel has also been officially renamed the High Level Committee (HLC) on One Nation, One Election, a Law Ministry release said.
The statement also said the HLC had “noted” the resignation of Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, leader of the single largest party in the Lok Sabha, from membership of the committee.
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While the Law Ministry had asked the Law Commission to study the feasibility of holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together, the Kovind panel will examine the possibility of holding Lok Sabha, Assembly, panchayat, and municipality elections together.
Sources indicated that the Law Commission would be invited again as some aspects are yet to be examined and its final report has not yet been completed. The Law Commission is working on a formula to synchronise all Assembly elections by extending or reducing the tenure so that these elections can be held along with the 2029 Lok Sabha elections onwards.
According to the Law Ministry’s statement, the Law Commission made a presentation during the meeting, elaborating on its suggestions and viewpoints on the issue of simultaneous elections in the country.
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The HLC, which in its first meeting decided to seek the views of political parties, has now written to them to elicit their views on holding sustainable simultaneous polls in the country. The official statement said letters have been sent to six national parties, 33 State parties, and seven registered unrecognised parties, inviting their suggestions on ‘One Nation, One Election’.
The committee also approved a budgetary provision for itself for the ongoing financial year 2023-24.
Home Minister Amit Shah, former leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad; Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal; former Chairman of 15th Finance Commission N.K. Singh; former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C. Kashyap; senior advocate Harish Salve; and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari attended the meeting.
