‘One nation, one election’ mechanism may be ready for rollout by 2029: Joint panel chief

The chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Committee examining concurrent election bills said on Friday that he was working to create a mechanism that could make the ‘One Nation, One Election’ reform fully operational by the 2029 general elections.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the panel’s two-day meeting in Goa, PP Chaudhary claimed that nearly 99% of civil society stakeholders consulted so far have supported the proposal, which aims to reduce the estimated Rs 7 lakh crore economic loss due to frequent elections.

The Committee began its deliberations on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 in Goa by interacting with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Cabinet members and sought their views on the challenges in implementing simultaneous elections and ways to resolve them.

Underlining the economic rationale behind the proposal, Mr. Chaudhary referred to the findings presented before the high-level committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind.

He said an economic study submitted to the Kovind committee had estimated that holding separate elections across the country would lead to economic losses of around Rs 7 lakh crore.