One Nation, One Election meeting concludes in Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 25: The second meeting of the committee on ‘One Nation One Elections’ headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind concluded in the national capital on Wednesday.

According to the sources, in the second meeting, the law commission was called and a presentation was made on legal and constitutional aspects regarding “One Nation One Election”.

During the meeting, all the legal and constitutional possibilities regarding the implementation of One Nation One Election were discussed in detail.

Meanwhile, the first meeting at Jodhpur Officer Hostel in Delhi lasted for about 45 minutes and the second meeting lasted for about one and a half hours.

In the meeting, apart from former President Ramnath Kovind, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Law Commission Chairperson Rituraj Awasthi, former Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, NK Singh, former Chairperson 15th Finance Commission, Senior Advocate Harish Salve were present.

However, the time for the third meeting has not been decided yet and it will be decided considering the availability of all the members.

The central government earlier in September constituted a high-level Committee to examine the issue of ‘One Nation, One Election’ and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of State (Independent Charge) from the Ministry of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, former Rajya Sabha leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission NK Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash Kashyap, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari attended the meeting.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was also named a member of the high-level Committee, declined to serve on the panel, saying its “terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions”.

The central idea behind ‘One Nation One Election’ is to synchronize the timing of Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections across all States to reduce the frequency of polls throughout the country.

This concept was the practice till 1967, but it was disrupted due to various reasons such as defections, dismissals, and dissolutions of government.