Law panel may study holding local, Assembly and general polls together

The Law Commission of India may now also study to hold local elections along with state and general polls as it discussed various ways and mechanisms for holding simultaneous elections with the high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind here on Wednesday.

On behalf of the commission, its chairperson Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi made a presentation to the panel and discussed various scenarios to make the simultaneous polls a feasible process, sources said. During the meeting, sources said the commission informed that so far its mandate was to study holding assembly and general polls together, but it is yet to get into the details of holding local polls also with these two elections.

The Kovind-led panel is expected to meet the law commission again and the commission may expand its focus area to start looking into holding all three-tier - local, state and general elections simultaneously.


Meanwhile, the Union law ministry, in an official statement, said that the Law Commission of India made a presentation during the meeting elaborating their suggestions and viewpoints on the issue of simultaneous elections in the country.

Law secretary Niten Chandra informed the panel that letters have been sent to six national parties, 33 state parties and seven registered unrecognised parties inviting their suggestions on 'one nation, one election', the ministry said. He further informed the committee that a website 'www.onoe.gov.in' has also been developed for the 'one nation, one election', which besides being a repository of all relevant information on the subject, will provide a platform for interaction and receiving suggestions from all the stakeholders.

The committee, which had in its first meeting recently decided to seek views of political parties, has now written to them to elicit their views on holding sustainable simultaneous polls in the country. In a communication to the parties, it has sought an interaction with them on a "mutually agreed date", sources said citing the letter. They said parties have also been given an option to send their views in writing in the next three months.

The law commission is devising a mechanism to synchronise Lok Sabha polls with all assembly polls by extending or reducing the tenure so that these elections can be held along with the Lok Sabha polls from 2029 onwards.