'One nation one poll' will galvanize election process, lead to economic growth: Kovind

KOLKATA: Once the 'One nation one poll' proposal by the Centre becomes functional, it will galvanize the election process and will also help in the economic growth of the country, former President Ram Nath Kovind said here on Tuesday.

Kovind was the chairman of the high-level committee on simultaneous elections, which was constituted by the Government of India in September 2023.

Speaking at a programme of a tribal organization here, Kovind said voters are tired of meeting candidates of political parties seeking votes every year and probably don't want to face them so frequently.

"Once the proposal becomes fully functional in 2029-2030, or say at a later date, as it might take 5-10 years to have simultaneous polls, voters won't have to head to polling stations every year for one poll or another. This will also lead to economic growth as the GDP growth of the country will rise by 1.5 per cent from 7.23 per cent at present," he said.

"Think about that if 1.5 points are added to the existing GDP it won't take long to reach the 10 per cent (GDP) figure. Then our country will be among the top 3-4 economic superpowers in the world," he said.

Kovind claimed that the one nation one poll will galvanise the election process.

"If candidates have to ask for votes from people every year, they will have to reply why this development promise has not been implemented. Yearly elections make people averse to going to booths at times," he said.

He said the 18,000-page report of the committee is in public domain and will streamline economic governance.

"If you sit in one place, you can see it with the click of a mouse or mobile and there is no need to visit different libraries. A voluminous compilation of different parliamentary committee reports have been put in one place," he said recalling his stint as chairman of the high-powered committee on 'one nation one poll' proposal when he met delegations of different parties and Election Commission officials and others.

Turning to the gathering of 'poor, dalits and backward castes', Kovind said "They are holding the country. They represent the beautiful mosaic of culture and play a dominant role in projecting the dignity of Bharat by preserving their indigenous culture."

"We need to make them feel as stakeholders in nation-building. We need to have them inside this auditorium to listen to the proceedings and our speeches and not just present their cultural programmes in the open space before the building as the dignitaries enter. When we make this inclusivity a reality, nation will truly progress. It is already progressing in that direction with proposals like one nation one poll," he said.