One nation, one election: Ram Nath Kovind panel submits report to President Droupadi Murmu. 5 points

Ram Nath Kovind panel on Thursday submitted report on 'one nation, one poll' to President Droupadi Murmu.

The high-level committee, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, has reportedly recommended amending at last five articles of the Constitution to enable the holding of simultaneous polls in the country. The report comprises of 18,626 pages.

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Kovind-led high-level committee on 'One-nation, one-poll' was set up in September 2023 to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities, and panchayats. As per the committee, they consulted with stakeholders and experts and did research work since its constitution on 2 September last year.

One-nation, one-poll: Here's what Kovind panel suggested

• Simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha, state assembly elections can be held in 1st step, followed by local body polls within 100 days in second step, according to Kovind panel.
• In case of hung House, no-confidence motion, fresh polls can be held for remainder of five-year term, Kovind panel has suggested.

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• For first simultaneous polls, tenure of all state assemblies can be for period ending up to subsequent Lok Sabha elections.
• Election Commission to prepare one electoral roll, voter ID cards in consultation with state poll authorities for Lok Sabha, assembly, local body election.
• The Kovind panel has recommended ramping up of equipments, manpower and security forces for holding simultaneous polls.
• The panel said that “Synchronised polls for all 3 tiers of government will improve governance architecture”.
• “Simultaneous polls to spur development process and social cohesion, deepen foundations of democratic rubric,” according to the panel.
• One-nation, one-election will enhance “transparency, inclusivity, ease and confidence of voters,” the panel suggested.

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The Kovind-led committee has submitted its report at a time when India's election panel body is expected to announce the schedule of the Lok Sabha election 2024.

Apart from Kovind, the other members of this committee are Home Minister Amit Shah, former leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former finance commission chairman N K Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash Kashyap, and senior advocate Harish Salve.

Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was also made a member of the panel but he declined, dubbing the committee as a total eyewash.

BJP MP and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is a special invitee to the panel.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-powered committee on selecting election commissioners and will meet on Thursday, March 14, to finalise the names of two new election commissioners.

However, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear pleas challenging the appointment of a new Election Commissioner under the new Act on Friday.

NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which dropped the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel of Election Commissioners.

The other petitioners in this case are General Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee Jaya Thakur, Sanjay Narayanrao Meshram, Dharmendra Singh Kushwaha, and advocate Gopal Singh.

The pleas challenged the new election commissioners' law that has dropped the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel for appointing Chief Election Commissioners (CEC) and other Election Commissioners (ECs).

The petitions said the Act excludes the Chief Justice of India from the process of appointment of the members of the ECI and it's in violation of the March 2023 verdict of the top court, which had ordered that the appointment of members of the ECI be done on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha until a law is made by the Parliament.

By excluding the CJI from the process, the judgment of the Supreme Court stands diluted, said the petition.

They sought direction from the Centre to include the Chief Justice of India in the selection committee for the appointment of the CEC and ECs, which currently consist of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Bill 2023 on 28 December 2023.