Amit Shah, Adhir Chowdhury Among 'One Nation One Election' Committee

Union Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have been a part of an eight-member committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind with an aim to examine the possibility of 'One Nation One Election'.

Other members of the panel include former Rajya Sabha member Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, NK Singh, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha, Subhash Kashyap, senior advocate, Harish Salve, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.

The committee was formed on Friday to introduce 'One Nation One Election' with an aim to conduct Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously. Reportedly, the 'One Nation, One Election' bill may be passed in the special session of Parliament, scheduled to be held from September 18 to 22.

The purpose of the panel is to solve issues like when no single party emerges as the clear winner in Parliament, or during a no-confidence motion when people want to remove the government, or when politicians change parties during elections.

The panel will also bring some amendments to the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act and any other laws specifically required for the purpose of holding simultaneous elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been demanding the 'One Nation One Election' since 2014 to reduce the expenditure incurred during the election cycle and decrease the obstacle in development work during polls. Kovind, too, supported Modi's idea after becoming President in 2017.

However, opposition leaders from the INDIA alliance did not welcome the idea of 'One Nation, One Election' and said the Centre was introducing this system as the BJP was "scared".