Ram Nath Kovind-led Panel Submits Report To President Draupadi Murmu

The report on ‘One Nation, One Election’ was submitted by the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to President Draupadi Murmu on Thursday at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

In the report, the panel has favoured holding simultaneous polls. The report stated, “The Committee is of unanimous opinion that simultaneous polls should be held.”

Other panel members were also present in the meeting, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, 15th Finance Commission Chairperson NK Singh, and former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C. Kashyap.

The report submitted to President Draupadi Murmu by the panel consisted of 18,626 pages. It also stated that the study is the result of 191 days of research and intensive engagements with experts and stakeholders since its formation on September 2, 2023.

According to the Hindustan Times, the panel has recommended holding simultaneous polls in 2029 and talking about “procedural and logistical” concerns.

According to PTI, the panel also suggested that simultaneous elections be held for the Lok Sabha and assembly first, with local body elections to be held within 100 days as a follow-up. The report states that all state assemblies may serve out their terms for the first simultaneous polls up until the next Lok Sabha elections. It further stated that new elections may be scheduled for the duration of the five-year term in the event of a hung House or no-confidence motion.

A committee member stated that the report contains a document on the economic sustainability of simultaneous polls written by NK Singh and Prachi Mishra of the International Monetary Fund. To get their opinions and learn more about the issue, the committee has been consulting with political parties, constitutional experts, the electoral commission, former chief election commissioners, and other pertinent parties.