In a big move, the Centre has set up a panel led by former President Ram Nath Kovind to study the 'one nation, one election' proposal, a resolution issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice stated.
Why? The resolution, dated 2 September, stated that as "in the national interest it is desirable to have simultaneous elections in the country, the Government of India hereby constitutes a High-Level Committee to examine the issue of simultaneous elections and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country."
Who are the members? Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, ex-MP Ghulam Nabi Azad, ex-chairman of the 15th Finance Commission NK Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Dr Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari are the other members of the committee.
'One nation, one election' means holding polls for all state Assemblies and the Lok Sabha simultaneously. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often spoken in support of the proposal publicly.