One Nation, One Election: Govt works out address for Kovind Committee

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, September 16: Committee on ‘One Nation, One Election (ONOE)’ formed by the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NFA) government at the Centre will soon have an address in the heart of New Delhi in a heritage property, which oversees parliament. While the special session of parliament begins from Monday, the government is laying down the infrastructure of the Ram Nath Kovind Committee to examine the feasibility of holding simultaneous elections in the country.

Sources confirmed The Raisina Hills that the government has almost worked out the working infrastructure needed by the Kovind Committee to carry out the mandate enshrined in the Gazette notification. The panel headed by Kovind also includes Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah, London-based arbitration lawyer Harish Salve, former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, ex-bureaucrat NK Singh, Constitution expert Subhash Kashyap, and Sanjay Kothari.

“We have finalized a suitable office space for the Kovind Committee in the Jodhpur House, which will befit the mandate of the panel and also facilitate the functioning of the group to examine the issue of holding simultaneous elections in the country. The office space will work as the secretariat also for the Kovind Committee, and suitable officials and aides are being provided for the panel. The office space will be fully equipped to handle the requirements of the committee,” a top ranking official in the government told The Raisina Hills.

It may be noted that the Kovind Committee has not yet been held, while informal deliberations have reportedly taken place among the members. The committee also had leader of the House of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, but be backed out, arguing that the panel was formed with an intent to “sign on dotted lines”. The Congress has rejected the idea of one nation, one election.

The gazette notification made a special mention of the 170^th report of the Law Commission which argued for reverting back to the simultaneous elections in the country, while also setting the backdrop by stating that the polls were held together in the country till 1967. The notification also mentioned the department related parliamentary standing committee’s 79^th report which called for two-phase holding of the simultaneous elections in the country.

“The office space taken at the Jodhpur House will now be renovated to suit the status of the Kovind Committee along with the necessary refurbishment to meet the requirements of the panel. It will be fully ready shortly and start functioning,” added the official.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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