In a significant development, former President Ram Nath Kovind, who leads the government-appointed high-level committee on ‘one nation, one election,’ has reiterated the potential benefits of holding simultaneous elections across India. Speaking to reporters in Rae Bareli, Kovind emphasized that such an electoral reform would not only serve the national interest but also benefit the public and political parties regardless of their affiliation.
“We are requesting everyone to give their positive support to us because this is in the national interest,” Kovind remarked. “It does not have anything to do with any particular party. For example, if this is implemented, then the benefit will go to whichever party is in power at the Centre, whether it is the BJP or the Congress or any other political party. There is no discrimination in this. The biggest benefit will be to the general public. The revenue that comes, the savings can be used for development work.”
Kovind’s statements come at a crucial juncture when the high-level committee, appointed by the Law Ministry on September 2, is actively soliciting comments from various political parties. The committee recently held its second meeting on October 25, during which it engaged with representatives from the Law Commission of India.
Highlighting the wide-ranging support for the idea of simultaneous elections, Kovind noted, “Saying that he had reached out to all national parties for their suggestions, Kovind said every party had supported the idea of simultaneous polls at some point.”
The proposal for ‘one nation, one election’ has undergone scrutiny by multiple entities, including a parliamentary standing committee, the NITI Aayog, and the Election Commission. Kovind indicated that there have been numerous committee reports endorsing the implementation of this practice.
“We [the committee] are trying, along with the public, to find a via media,” Kovind stated. “We will give the government recommendations on how we can implement this practice again.”
The high-level committee comprises esteemed members such as Home Minister Amit Shah, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, former Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
Notably, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha and the lone Opposition voice in the panel, declined to participate, expressing concerns about the committee’s terms of reference.
While serving as President, Ram Nath Kovind had previously voiced support for simultaneous elections in his address to the joint sitting of Parliament on January 29, 2018. He argued that frequent elections placed a “huge burden” on human resources and impeded the development process, emphasizing the need for a sustained debate and consensus among political parties on this issue.
