One Nation, One Poll panel seeks ex-CECs’ views, yet to ask EC

The One Nation, One Election committee, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, has reached out to some former Chief Election Commissioners, who have retired recently, for suggestions on holding simultaneous elections, while it is yet to ask the Election Commission for its view, The Indian Express has learnt.

The high-level committee, set up by the Law Ministry in September 2023, last week wrote to former CECs seeking their inputs on the administrative and legal aspects, according to two sources aware of the development.

The two most recent former CECs, Sushil Chandra and Sunil Arora, could not be reached for comment. O P Rawat, who was CEC in 2018, confirmed he had received the committee’s letter dated January 4, and his reply was sought by January 15.

Meanwhile, the committee is yet to ask the ECI for its opinion, as per another source. The committee had invited suggestions from the general public via a public notice on January 5, with January 15 as the deadline.