The first official meeting of the newly formulated committee on ‘one nation, one election’, to be chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, will most likely be held next week, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said all members are being asked about their availability so that a suitable date and time can be fixed. On September 2, the government had named an eight-member high-level committee headed by Kovind to “examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections” to Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, municipalities and panchayats. It is likely that, sources say, the meeting will be held to coincide with the Special Session, when all ministers are already in New Delhi to attend the Parliament proceedings. The panel, among others, has Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and MoS Arjun Meghwal as its members. The duo had met Kovind on September 6, days after the government notified the panel. They had described the nearly hour-long meeting as a “courtesy call”. Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the lone Opposition voice in the panel, had declined to be a part of the exercise. When contacted about Chowdhury’s exit and whether there is a thought to replace him with another Opposition leader, Meghwal said, “It’s an election reform and should not be politicised. He (Chowdhury) must be having some political compulsion that he had to recuse himself from the panel.” In a letter to Shah, Chowdhury said he cannot be a part of the committee, the “terms of reference” of which “have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions”. He called the exercise “an eyewash”. The minister of state for law and justice, whose department is the nodal department on the panel, is a special invitee, while the law secretary has been named as the secretary to the committee. Meghwal said that they are in touch with members regarding their consent and availability for the first official meeting. He added that even in 2019, when PM Modi had spoken about ‘one nation, one election’, the Congress had boycotted the meeting. “Who was heading the government at the Centre when simultaneous polls were held in 1957, 1962 and 1967?” Meghwal said. From the first elections of the Independent India in 1952 until 1967, elections were held simultaneously across the country. In June 2019, Modi had presided over a meeting with the presidents of all political parties having representatives in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Those present in the meeting included JDU’s Nitish Kumar, NC’s Farooq Abdullah, SAD’s Sukhbir Singh Badal, BJD’s Naveen Patnaik, PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, YSRCP’s Jagan Mohan Reddy, even as Congress, NCP and TMC had skipped the meet. Efforts are on to hold the first meeting of the high-level committee in the coming days and a venue is being finalised, sources said, adding that the ministry is in the process of nominating officers who would offer the panel secretarial assistance. Top officials of the Union Law Ministry have already held a preparatory briefing for the former president, including Law Secretary Niten Chandra and Legislative Secretary Reeta Vasishta. Just before the committee was officially announced, BJP chief J P Nadda had also met Kovind, to take his formal consent, as per sources. As per the gazette notification, the committee is expected to begin functioning immediately and submit its recommendations “at the earliest”. Some sources say that "it may be a long-term idea with no bearing on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections", also adding that "all suggestions from stakeholders will be taken into account before any decision on the modalities could be taken”.
