The Modi Cabinet on Thursday approved the crucial ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill which is likely to be tabled in the ongoing Winter Session, said the sources. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has termed as “historic” the idea of the ‘one nation, one election’, and claimed that the move will be cost-effective and governance-friendly. On several occasions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the concept of holding simultaneous polls, asserting it’s the need of the hour.
Earlier in September, the Union Cabinet accepted the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner after a countrywide consensus-building exercise.
The High-level committee under the chairmanship of Kovind, submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu after holding extensive consultations with stakeholders, experts and research work of 191 days, since its constitution on September 2, 2023.
The other members of the Committee were Home Minister Amit Shah, former Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chairman of 15th Finance Commission NK Singh, former Secretary General, Lok Sabha Dr. Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari. Also, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Law and Justice was a Special Invitee and Dr Niten Chandra was the Secretary of the HLC.
