New Delhi:

The high-level committee on ‘one nation, one election’ headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday reviewed the progress made by it since it was set up in September last, an official statement said.

The committee at its meeting on Saturday “reviewed its various activities”, the statement said.

The panel has been reviewing the progress made by it since it was set up in September last year.

The committee is mandated to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats keeping in view the existing constitutional framework.

While the ruling BJP and other parties, including the Shiv Sena and the Janata Dal (United), have supported the concept of simultaneous polls, the opposition parties, including the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), have rejected the idea.

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New Delhi:

Taking a big step forward on the ‘one nation, one election’ proposal, the Centre has set up a committee to study the issue and submit a report. The panel will be headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.

The move comes a day after Centre had announced a special session of the Parliament from September 18 to 22. Ever since the surprise announcement was made, there has been speculation that a bill on ‘one nation, one election’ will be tabled during the session, but no one from the government has confirmed this so far. 

‘One nation, one election’ refers to holding the Lok Sabha and state assembly polls simultaneously across the country. The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have spoken on the issue on several occasions, and it was also a part of the party’s manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Conducting polls simultaneously was the norm in India until 1967 and four elections were held this way. The practice stopped after some state assemblies were dissolved prematurely in 1968-69. The Lok Sabha was also, for the first time, dissolved a year ahead of schedule in 1971 and mid-term elections had been called.