A day after announcing a Special Parliament Session later this month, the Centre on Friday constituted a committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind to explore the feasibility of “One Nation, One Election”.

Sources said Kovind will explore the feasibility of the exercise and the mechanism to see as to how the country can go back to having simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, as was the case till 1967.

With speculation of possibility of general elections 2024 to be advanced so that they could be held with State Assembly polls, Opposition parties slammed the Government’s move to set up the committee to study the feasibility of “one nation, one election”, alleging it would pose a threat to the federal structure of the country.

Kovind is expected to speak to experts and may also consult leaders of different political parties. The Government’s decision comes a day after it decided to call a Special Session of Parliament between September 18 and 22, the agenda for which is under wraps.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said there are “important items” on the agenda of the Special Session of Parliament and it will be circulated “very shortly”. He declined to comment on the items on the agenda and said it’s in the “final stage” of preparation.

Since coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a strong votary for the idea of simultaneous polls, which include those at local bodies, citing financial burden caused by almost continuous election cycle and jolt to development work during the polling period.

Kovind too had echoed Modi’s view and expressed his support to the idea after becoming President in 2017.  Addressing Parliament, the former President had said in 2018, “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.”

Like Modi, he had called for a sustained debate and expressed hope that all political parties arrive at a consensus on this issue.

With the Modi Government approaching end of its second term, there is a view in its top echelon that it can no longer let the issue drag on and needs to move decisively to underscore its purposefulness after debating on the topic for years.

With the ruling BJP under Modi always animated by grander themes and big-ticket ideas to rally popular support, the issue will also suit the party politically and catch the Opposition off guard, leaders in the party believe.

Assembly polls are due in five States — Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Rajasthan — in November-December and they are scheduled to be followed by the Lok Sabha elections in May-June next year.

However, the recent moves by the Government have thrown open the possibility of advancing the general elections and some State polls, which are scheduled after and with the Lok Sabha contest. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh Assemblies are scheduled to go to the polls with the Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP enjoys good relations with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik even though they are not formally part of its alliance.  The BJP is in power in Arunachal while Sikkim is ruled by an ally.

Maharashtra and Haryana, two States where the BJP is in power with allies, and JMM-Congress-ruled Jharkhand are slated to go for polls after the Lok Sabha contest.

Opposition leaders alleged the ongoing meeting of the INDIA alliance in Mumbai has in fact rattled the ruling BJP which caused the Government to set up a committee under Kovind to explore the possibility of holding polls for the Lok Sabha and Assemblies simultaneously.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called the Government’s move a “diversion and distraction”. “No matter how many diversions and distractions the ruling regime throws at the people, the citizens of India shall not be betrayed anymore,” Kharge said without making any direct reference to the formation of the committee.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the country is already “one” and no one is questioning that. “We demand fair elections, not ‘one nation one election’. This move of ‘one nation, one election’ is being brought to divert attention from our demand for fair elections,” he added.

While CPI leader D Raja said Modi always talks about India being the mother of democracy but the Government has taken a unilateral decision without discussing with other political parties, AAP national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said the move betrays the “panic” in the ruling party after they saw the unity of Opposition parties under the INDIA bloc.