Law Commission presents ‘one nation, one poll’ plan to Kovind-led panel

Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi, Chairperson of the Law Commission, outlined a comprehensive plan for simultaneous elections in the presence of the high-level ‘One Nation, One Election’ committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
A source familiar with the development told The Daily Guardian, “The Law Commission of India has undertaken a comprehensive plan for the implementation of simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, beginning in 2029.”

The Commission is actively exploring strategies to harmonize all Assembly elections and establish a unified electoral roll with the aim of reducing costs and streamlining manpower.
The committee responsible for the ‘one nation, one election’ initiative, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, has extended an invitation to political parties to provide their input on the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections.

During a meeting on Wednesday, Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi, the Chairperson of the Law Commission, presented a detailed roadmap for executing concurrent elections in the country before the high-level committee on ‘one nation, one election,’ led by former President Ram Nath Kovind. Sources familiar with the meeting have revealed that the law panel engaged in extensive discussions regarding the necessary constitutional amendments to facilitate simultaneous elections.

However, it was noted that there are still pending tasks before the law panel can submit its report to the government regarding simultaneous elections. There is a possibility that the Kovind panel may call upon the Law Commission for further discussions in the future. The Law Commission was invited by the committee to provide its insights on the logistics of conducting simultaneous elections in the country. The committee, following its initial meeting, it decided to seek the opinions of political parties.