Kovind-led committee set to get Law panel’s ‘unified poll plan’ tomorrow

The Law Commission is set to share its plan for conducting simultaneous elections to the high-level committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday, a source told The Daily Guardian. The panel has extended an invitation to the Law Commission for a meeting on October 25 to gather its input on the feasibility of holding concurrent elections in India.

The high-level committee, which recently convened its initial meeting and decided to solicit the opinions of political parties, has dispatched communication to these parties to collect their perspectives on organising sustainable simultaneous elections in the country.
In the letter addressed to political parties, they have been given the opportunity to participate in discussions on a date mutually agreed upon. Additionally, parties have the option to submit their opinions in writing over the next three months.

The law panel, headed by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, is actively formulating a plan to synchronise all assembly elections by either extending or shortening their terms, with the aim of conducting these elections concurrently with the Lok Sabha polls starting in 2029. This effort includes developing a mechanism for establishing a unified electoral roll for Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies. The objective is to reduce costs and streamline the process, which is presently conducted separately by the Election Commission and various state election commissions.

To achieve the synchronisation of various Assembly elections for combined state and Lok Sabha polls starting in 2029, the Commission may propose modifications to the tenures of legislative assemblies. The Commission is also working on a method to ensure that voters only need to visit the polling station once to cast their ballots for both elections, given that assembly and parliamentary polls are typically conducted in phases.

The Commission’s position is that holding assembly and parliamentary elections together is feasible, and it is in the process of devising the necessary arrangements to facilitate this significant democratic undertaking.