Former president Ram Nath Kovind on Friday asserted that the concept of holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was the brain child of the country’s founding fathers and not the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).The former president who led the high level committe on ‘one nation, one election’ emphasised the importance of majority consensus in a democracy, urging dissenting parties to reconsider their stance.Earlier on Thursday, the Union Cabinet approved two bills to hold the parliamentary and assembly polls together.The Kovind-led panel had recommended holding Lok Sabha, state assembly and local body elections simultaneously in a phased manner.Speaking at ‘Agenda Aaj Tak’ here, Kovind also said that series of elections give an elected government nearly 3.5 years to fulfil its electoral promises and aspirations of people. He suggested that simultaneous polls will give the governments more time for governance.Responding to a question on having an opposition member on the committee, Kovind said that initially then Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhury was willing to be a member and wanted the government to send him an appointment letter.He said “people conclude” that Choudhury decided to withdraw after he discussed the issue with party higher ups.Kovind said during the consultation process on ‘one nation, one election’, 32 political parties supported the idea while 15 did not.”I believe since we are living in a democracy. I think the side that has majority should prevail. I am saying this hypothetically. These 32 parties who are in favour, their views should be accepted by the country. Others should change their views. Those 15 who are not in agreement should accept this fact,” he said.He also said that then president Pranab Mukherjee was supportive of the idea of simultaneous polls and believed that the plan could be implemented either by consensus or by a government enjoying full majority.Earlier this week, TNIE reported that the bills are likely to be introduced during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. Officials said the bill would be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed discussions with representatives of all political parties, aiming to build consensus on the proposal.Simultaneous polls were held in the country between 1951 and 1967.The concept of simultaneous elections has featured in many reports and studies since 1983, essentially implying a return to the previous practice of conducting polls concurrently.’One Nation One Election’ has been a core pledge of the BJP ever since it came to power in 2014. However, the proposal has faced consistent backlash from opposition parties, who argue that it undermines democracy and violates the Constitution’s basic structure.(With inputs from PTI)
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