The Law Commission, looking into the issue of holding simultaneous elections in the country, may examine the possibility of carrying out the three-tier democratic exercise in two phases in a single year, sources have said.
In the first phase, Lok Sabha and assembly polls can be held and in the second phase, local body polls can be organised, they said, citing one of the formulae the law panel may consider for the simultaneous elections issue.
This, the sources said, is a practical approach keeping in mind the varied climatic conditions of the country.
In August 2018, the previous Law Commission had endorsed the Narendra Modi government's proposal to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, saying it will prevent the country from being in constant election mode.
However, it had sought further public discourse on the issue before arriving at a final decision.
The present law panel under Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi is finalising its report on holding assembly and Lok Sabha polls together. But the high-level committee on 'One Nation, One Election' under former president Ram Nath Kovind has been tasked with recommending how Lok Sabha, assembly and local body polls (panchayat, municipalities, zila parishad) can be held together.
Keeping in mind the terms of reference of the Kovind-led panel, the Law Commission has enhanced the ambit of its study to include holding local body polls along with national and state elections.
Meanwhile, the Kovind-led panel has invited suggestions from the public "for making appropriate changes in the existing legal administrative framework to enable simultaneous elections in the country".
In a public notice, the high-level committee said the suggestions received by January 15 would be taken up for consideration.
The suggestions can be posted on the committee's website onoe.gov.in or sent by e-mail to sc-hlc@gov.in, the notice said.
The committee has held two meetings since it was constituted in September last year. It had also recently written to political parties seeking their views and an interaction on a "mutually agreed date" on the idea of holding simultaneous polls. It had later sent a reminder to the parties.
Letters were sent to six national parties, 33 state parties and seven registered unrecognised parties.
The committee has also heard the views of the Law Commission on simultaneous polls. The law panel could be called again on the issue.
According to its terms of reference, the committee is meant to "examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections to the House of the People (Lok Sabha), State Legislative Assemblies, Municipalities and Panchayats, keeping in view the existing framework under the Constitution of India and other statutory provisions, and for that purpose, examine and recommend specific amendments to the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the rules made thereunder and any other law or rules which would require amendments for the purpose of holding simultaneous elections".
