The high-level committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, to examine the possibility of simultaneous elections held its first meeting on Saturday and decided to invite national and regional political parties to submit their views and suggestions on the issue.
Home Minister Amit Shah, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and former Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad were among those who attended the meeting, said a statement of the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The press statement also said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the single largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha, didn’t attend.
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The high-level panel was constituted by the Narendra Modi government on September 2, in which Mr. Chowdhury was named as member.
However, in a letter to Mr. Shah, he declined to join the committee and said, “I have no hesitation whatsoever in declining to serve on the committee whose terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions.”
The first meeting of the committee was to prepare an action plan and discuss holding consultations with stakeholders. Preparation of working papers and research on the subject for an in-depth discussion were also on the agenda of the meeting.
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“Outlining the modalities of working of the Committee, the Committee decided to invite recognised National Political Parties, Political Parties having Government in States, Political Parties having their representatives in Parliament, other recognised State Political Parties for seeking suggestions/view points on the issue of simultaneous elections in the country,” the Law Ministry said in the statement.
“In addition, the Committee will also invite Law Commission of India to make their suggestions/view points on the issue of simultaneous elections in the country,” it added.
The decision to invite political parties is significant as several parties have expressed their opposition, with the Congress categorically rejecting the idea.
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Many regional parties have also stated that if Assembly and national elections are held together, atop all parties may have an advantage.
First mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has argued that it will save thousands of crores by not holding elections every year and that development will continue unhindered by the model code of conduct coming into force frequently.
