Indian govt forms committee to explore possibility of 'one nation, one election': Report

The Indian government has formed a committee under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore possibility of 'one nation, one election', PTI reported citing sources.

According to the sources, Kovind, who too had voiced support for this idea years back, will explore the feasibility and the mechanism to see if the world's most populous country can retreat to holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and state elections as was done till 1967. Kovind is also expected to speak to experts and may also consult leaders of different political parties, the sources told PTI.

Also Read: One Nation, One Election: What it means for national politics and voters?

This comes after the government called for a special session of Parliament for five days starting September 18. However, no official announcement has been made regarding the agenda of the session which will be held days after the G20 Summit in the national capital, Delhi, on September 8 to 10, 2023.

With the BJP government calling for a special session of the Parliament in September, speculation is rife about the purpose of the sitting. According to reports, most of the speculation has centered on the upcoming elections, with some expecting a 'One nation, one election' move from the Centre, while others predict a poll preponement.



This, as the name suggests, means simultaneous state and general elections. This needs a constitutional amendment for which the lawmakers need to meet in a parliament session.

India's Lok Sabha elections are scheduled next year in May.

Also Read: Could special Parliament session see introduction of 'One Nation, One Election' Bill?

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier this week said that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government might conduct the Lok Sabha polls in December itself, claiming that all choppers have been booked by the saffron party for campaigning.

The 'one nation, one election' idea has mooted strongly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the years and the reported set up of the Kovind-led committee now will further progress the plan to gain stronger foothold on real grounds.

Five states are scheduled to go to polls in November-December.

However, experts have suggested that the move is likely to hurt the regional parties, who do not have the monetary power to match up with the national parties and particularly the ones that are more powerful on the national scale.

Research conducted by the IDFC Institute said that if elections are held at six-month intervals, there's a 77 percent likelihood of voters favoring the same political party or alliance for both state assemblies and the Lok Sabha. This figure drops to 61 percent if elections are held six months apart.

This also comes after the BJP suffered massive losses in some state elections such as in West Bengal and Karnataka. While BJP swept to power to form the Indian government for a second term in 2019 with a massive lead over others, their performance in state assemblies have lagged.

During Lok Sabha elections next year, states such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are also scheduled to go to the polls. Maharashtra and Haryana, two states where the BJP is in power with allies, and JMM-Congress-ruled Jharkhand are scheduled to hold their state elections after the Lok Sabha battle.