Centre looks to table bill on one nation, one poll
Hindustan TimesA bill to pave the way for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies ranks high on the Union government’s agenda and could be tabled in Parliament in the ongoing winter session or the coming budget session, people familiar with the details said on Monday. The 18,000-page Kovind report had outlined a phased approach to synchronise elections, beginning first with Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, and following up with local body polls within 100 days. The panel finally suggested an amendment to the Constitution to introduce synchronised polls to elect the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step. Indicating that 2029 might be the year to start with the first step, the panel recommended that terms of some of the state assemblies will have to be cut to hold simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state legislatures after the five-year term of the next Lok Sabha ends.