Gujarat: JPC continues consultations on ‘One Nation, One Election’, engages with political leaders

Gandhinagar, May 20 (IANS) The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the feasibility of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal continued its three-day visit to Gujarat on Wednesday, with the second day marked by detailed consultations with leaders from major political parties, sitting legislators and senior state officials.

The 39-member committee, comprising 27 Lok Sabha MPs and 12 Rajya Sabha MPs, is chaired by BJP MP P.P. Chaudhary and has been mandated to examine constitutional and administrative aspects of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

The panel is scrutinising the proposed Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

On the first day of the visit, the committee held discussions with senior state officials at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, where the state government presented a detailed briefing on governance structures and electoral preparedness.

According to reports from the meeting, JPC Chairperson, P.P. Chaudhary, described the presentation as a “model presentation”, stating that it was the first time such a comprehensive and integrated submission had been placed before the committee.

He also appreciated the efforts of the Chief Secretary and senior administrative officials, noting that “several aspects highlighted in the presentation had not previously been presented to the panel in such detail”.

Chaudhary further indicated that the “Gujarat model of presentation” would be refined and shared with other states as a template for similar submissions.

He also told reporters that the committee’s consultations are aimed at gathering structured inputs from states, political stakeholders and institutions before preparing final recommendations on the proposal for Parliament.

“Economists also said that this could increase the GDP by 1.6 per cent. If simultaneous elections are held, the country could save Rs seven lakh crore. That money could be used for infrastructure, welfare of the poor, education, healthcare, and other public welfare works,” he had said.

On the second day, the committee invited representatives of all major political parties for consultations.

The discussions were attended by leaders from the BJP, Congress and AAP, along with senior state leadership.

The AAP delegation included party state president Isudan Gadhvi, MLAs Gopal Italia and Chaitar Vasava, along with other party representatives.

The Congress delegation was led by state president Amit Chavda and included MLA Imran Khedawala and other leaders. The ruling BJP was also represented by senior functionaries and legislators.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary and several Cabinet ministers and MLAs are also participating in the interactions with the parliamentary panel.

According to party representatives, the session allowed political stakeholders to place their positions directly before the committee.

BJP leaders reiterated their support for the proposal, while Opposition parties raised concerns related to constitutional structure, federal principles and electoral fairness.

The concept of ‘One Nation, One Election’ seeks to synchronise elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, aiming to reduce electoral expenditure and administrative disruption.

India last held simultaneous elections in 1967, after which the cycle was broken due to premature dissolution of several Assemblies and the Lok Sabha in subsequent years.

The proposal is currently under detailed examination following the report of a high-level committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, which submitted its recommendations after extensive consultations and research.

The panel suggested a phased approach to synchronised elections, including alignment of electoral cycles and provisions for handling mid-term dissolutions, with possible implementation from 2029 if constitutional changes are completed.

The JPC is expected to continue its consultations with stakeholders over the remaining day of its Gujarat visit before moving towards consolidation of inputs for its parliamentary report.

–IANS

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