To examine the possibility of the much-discussed "one nation, one election" concept, the Centre has formed a committee, likely to be under the chairmanship of former president Ram Nath Kovind, according to reports.
The news comes a day after the government announced a confidential agenda for a special session of Parliament to be held from September 18 to 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed strongly for the possibility of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies over the years. The decision to assign Kovind to look at it underlines the government's seriousness as a number of elections approach.
Kovind has also supported the notion and mirrored Mr. Modi's viewpoint after being elected President in 2017.
“Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the model code of conduct,” he said addressing Parliament in 2018.
While addressing Parliament in June 2019, then-President Kovind said the “one nation, simultaneous elections” was the “need of the hour”.
“During the last few decades, due to frequent elections being held in some part of the country or the other, the pace and continuity of development programs have been impacted. Our countrymen have demonstrated their wisdom by delivering a clear verdict both at State and National issues. ‘One Nation – Simultaneous Elections’ is the need of the hour, which would facilitate accelerated development, thereby benefitting our countrymen,” he had said.
The highest echelon of the Modi government believes that the problem cannot be allowed to linger as it approaches the end of its second term and that it must act swiftly to demonstrate its seriousness after discussing the matter for years.
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