The exhaustive report on the concept of ‘one nation, one election,’ chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, has been officially presented to the current President, Droupadi Murmu, at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This significant report, comprising 18,626 pages, is the result of about seven months of comprehensive consultations and in-depth research.
Alongside Ram Nath Kovind, other eminent personalities such as Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, ex-Finance Commission chairman N.K. Singh, and ex-Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C. Kashyap were present for this landmark submission. The committee, formed in September 2023, is expected to suggest potential modifications to the Constitution or the addition of new sections to facilitate the conducting of simultaneous elections throughout India, from the Lok Sabha down to local body levels.
The ‘One Nation One Election’ initiative, spearheaded by the Kovind panel, may also put forward the idea of a single electoral roll for all elections, thereby overhauling the current electoral process. It was also mentioned that a 22nd Law Commission report, delving into this topic, has recommended that such an electoral process could be initiated from the general elections of 2029, and this Commission is anticipated to present its finalized recommendations to the Law Ministry shortly.