Former President Ram Nath Kovind to lead panel on 'one nation, one election'

The government officially announced the formation of an eight-member high-level committee tasked with promptly addressing the issue of conducting simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities, and panchayats on Saturday.

This committee will be chaired by the former President, Ram Nath Kovind, and will include notable members such as Home Minister Amit Shah, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress leader in Lok Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, the former leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, and N K Singh, the former Finance Commission chairman.

The panel is set to begin its work immediately and aims to provide its recommendations expeditiously. Other members of the committee include Subhash C Kashyap, the former Lok Sabha Secretary General, Harish Salve, a senior advocate, and Sanjay Kothari, the former Chief Vigilance Commissioner.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend committee meetings as a special invitee, while Niten Chandra, the Legal Affairs Secretary, will serve as the panel's secretary.

The primary objective of this committee is to thoroughly examine and propose specific amendments to the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, and any other relevant laws and regulations necessary to enable simultaneous elections. Additionally, the committee will assess whether the proposed constitutional amendments require ratification by the states.

The committee will analyse and put forth potential solutions for scenarios such as a hung House, the adoption of a no-confidence motion, defections, or any other relevant events that may arise in the context of simultaneous elections.