Ready for polls as per legal provisions: CEC on 'One Nation, One Election' after opposition uproar

Days after a major  uproar over the Centre's 'One Nation, One Election' concept of holding simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies across the country, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said that the Commission is ready to conduct elections as per legal provisions. "According to the legal procedures, the Constitution and RP Act, we have the mandate to conduct the election and we are ready," Kumar said while responding to the reporters on 'One Nation, One Election, in a press conference held on the preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. "Our duty is to deliver elections before time as per constitutional provisions and the RP Act. Article 83 (2) says that 5 years will be the term of the Parliament and its corresponding section 14 of the RP Act says that 6 months before, we can announce the elections. A similar situation exists for the state assemblies. As per legal provisions, we are always ready to conduct the elections", he said.

The issue of a single election has triggered a nationwide debate since last week when the Centre announced the formation a high-level committee under former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the feasibility of holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies and local bodies, bringing ‘One nation, One election’, under the spotlight. Earlier, Mr. Kumar and other top ECI officials held meetings with all stakeholders to assess the preparedness in Madhya Pradesh. Mr. Kumar said the State had nearly 5.5 crore voters and that the final voter list would be published on October 5. He said the ECI was putting in place a system to enable senior citizens and persons with disabilities to vote from their homes in the upcoming polls if they apply for the same. They have further been given an option of applying online if they wished to vote from home. Election officials would visit the homes of such voters and ensure voting with confidentiality and also videograph the process in the presence of political parties’ representatives, he added. On the first time voters, he said special campaigns had been planned at schools and colleges to encourage the youngest of the voters to participate in the exercise. Mr. Kumar also mentioned the various arrangements put in place for other section of voters, including those living in far-flung areas. The centre on Saturday constituted an eight-member High-Level Committee to examine the issue of 'one nation, one election' and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country. Apart from the Chairperson, the committee will include Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission chairperson NK Singh, senior advocate Harish Salve, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.