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Ram Nath Kovind, former Indian president and chairman of the high-level committee on ‘One Nation, One Election’, chaired a meeting with the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) and the Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal on Wednesday to understand their opinion on the central government’s plan to hold simultaneous elections.
“The chairman met and interacted with Praful Patel and Sunil Dattatray Tatkare of NCP, who gave their considered opinion on the subject. Consultations were also held with Shri Upendra Kushwah, national president of RLJD along with two other members of the party for their views and suggestions on holding simultaneous elections in the country,” a person aware of the development said.
HT had reported on January 28 that the panel would consult with political parties who are or are not in favour of the idea. So far, 12 political parties have opposed the idea, while 10 are in favour.
“Representatives of the parties also handed over their suggestions in writing,” the official said.
HT reached out to the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) delegation and to the RLD too, but could not get a response.
Opposition parties including the Congress, Communist Party of India, the CPI(M), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Trinamool Congress (TMC), the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had written to committee secretary Niten Chandra opposing the idea.
In September 2023, Ajit Pawar had backed the idea, but NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule opposed it and said the government was not clarifying on what the proposal of ‘One Nation, One Election’ was.