As President, Kovind pitched for simultaneous polls

PTI, Sep 3, 2023, 8:25 AM IST

Former President of India Ram Nath Kovind (PTI)

New Delhi: Ram Nath Kovind, who heads the high-level committee to examine and make recommendations on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats has been a votary of synchronised elections as the president of India.

Addressing a joint session of Parliament on January 29, 2018, Kovind had said citizens alive to the state of governance in the country are concerned about the frequent elections in one part of India or another, which adversely impact the economy and development.

“Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources, but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the Model Code of Conduct. Therefore, a sustained debate is required on the subject of simultaneous elections and all political parties need to arrive at a consensus on this issue,” he had said.

The other members of the panel are:

Amit Shah: Union minister for home Affairs as also the first Union minister for cooperation, Shah has been the president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

A member of the Lok Sabha, he had also been a minister in the Gujarat government.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: He is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha. He represents the Opposition in various committees as the leader of the single-largest party in opposition in the Lower House of Parliament.

Harish Salve: A senior advocate, he is a former solicitor general. Salve represented India before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case in May 2017.

Ghulam Nabi Azad: A former leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Azad had a long stint in the Congress. He later floated his own political outfit — Democratic Progressive Azad Party.

He is also a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Subhash C Kashyap: A constitutional expert, Kashyap was the secretary general of the Lok Sabha. He has advised the government on Panchayati Raj laws and institutions.

N K Singh: Former chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, Singh has been a member of the Rajya Sabha. Before entering politics, he had a long career as a bureaucrat.

Sanjay Kothari: A former bureaucrat, Kothari has been the chief vigilance commissioner. He has also served as the secretary to the president.