The Ram Nath Kovind-led high-level committee set up to study the issue of simultaneous national and assembly elections is set to submit its report to President Droupadi Murmu, five months after its creation, on Wednesday, according to government officials.

A committee member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the panel will suggest holding simultaneous polls in 2029 and discuss “procedural and logistical” issues related to this.

A second committee member, also requesting anonymity, said the report will “strongly reflect the widespread stakeholder consultations that have taken place”. The committee believes that all its recommendations should be available in the public domain but that it is up to the government to accept or decline them, the second member said.

This person also said that the report includes a paper by chairperson of the 15th finance commission NK Singh and International Monetary Fund’s Prachi Mishra on the economic viability of simultaneous polls. The report will also lay out the financial and administrative resources required for conducting simultaneous elections. It has considered the feedback given through its website and those received from various stakeholders, including former chief election commissioners.

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HT learns that the report uses data on the three elections between 1951-52 and 1967 and argues that, like then, simultaneous elections are possible now. The cycle of simultaneous elections was broken after some state governments collapsed or were dismissed before they could complete their term, necessitating a fresh election.

The committee was formed in September last year and is chaired by former president Kovind. The committee has been conducting consultations with political parties, constitutional experts, former chief election commissioners and the election commission and other relevant stakeholders to solicit their views and gather insights on the matter.

The committee’s mandate includes examining the potential impact of synchronised elections on governance, administration, political stability, expenditure, and voter participation, among other aspects. It is also tasked with formulating recommendations and presenting a comprehensive report outlining the pros and cons of the idea.

In the past, a parliamentary standing committee, the Niti Aayog, and the Law Commission have weighed in on the issue of simultaneous polls, expressing concern over the burgeoning expense of holding one election after another but also flagging possible constitutional and legal problems.

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Kovind has already come out in favour of simultaneous parliamentary and state assembly polls, urging all political parties to support the idea in national interest. In November last year, the former president said any party in power at the Centre will benefit from “one nation, one election” and money saved in election expenditure could be used for development.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2014 and 2019 manifestos pitched for simultaneous elections across the country but for that to come into force, at least five articles in the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act would have to be tweaked.

On February 20, the BJP backed the idea, telling the Kovind-led panel that changes in the law that governs India’s elections should be brought through consensus and the repeated invocation of the model code of conduct hurts governance and fosters corruption.

Besides the BJP, the Janata Dal (United), Shiv Sena and Republican Party of India – Athawale have backed the idea of simultaneous polls.

The parties which are not in favour of the proposal are the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India.