Ram Nath Kovind, the former president and leader of the high-level committee overseeing the "one nation, one election" initiative, engaged in consultations with key figures to delve into the matter of simultaneous polls. Conversations were held with former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit, the Bar Council of India, former Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court Justice Sanjib Banerjee, and Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairman of the Bar Council of India.
In a statement released on Saturday, it was disclosed that Kovind continued his deliberations with retired judges, seeking their valuable opinions on the subject. The official statement highlighted a fresh meeting of the committee, where a presentation based on the research paper titled 'Macroeconomic Impact of Harmonising Electoral Cycles, Evidences from India' was conducted. The paper, co-authored by committee member and former Finance Commission head N K Singh along with Prachi Mishra, suggested that simultaneous elections could potentially lead to higher economic growth and increased government investment in both capital and revenue expenditures.
This fourth meeting of the committee, attended by various distinguished individuals including the former leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, N K Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C Kashyap, former CVC Sanjay Kothari, and senior advocate Harish Salve, furthered the discussions on the proposed initiative.
President Kovind also extended his conversations to political parties, engaging with Deepak 'Pandurang' Dhavalikar, the president of the Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party in Goa. According to the statement, the party expressed strong support for the concept of one nation, one election, emphasizing its potential to strengthen grassroots democracy. These interactions signify the ongoing efforts to gather diverse perspectives and insights into the feasibility and implications of synchronized elections.
(With Agency Inputs)
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