Bhubaneswar: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ framework has reportedly stated that simultaneous elections across India could potentially save nearly ₹7 lakh crore and increase the country’s GDP growth rate by around 1.6 percent.
According to the JPC leadership, the proposal is aimed at reducing the enormous financial and administrative burden associated with conducting frequent elections for the Lok Sabha and various state assemblies separately throughout the year.
The JPC Chief also suggested reforms to the anti-defection law and proposed that if a government collapses before completing its term, Government of India could consider imposing President’s Rule for the remaining duration in order to maintain synchronisation of election cycles.
Commenting on the current system, the committee observed that multiple assembly elections taking place every year create repeated disruptions in governance, policy implementation and administrative functioning.
Supporters of the proposal argue that simultaneous elections could significantly reduce public expenditure, minimise repeated enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, improve policy continuity and accelerate infrastructure and development projects.
However, the proposal continues to generate constitutional and political debate, with several opposition parties and constitutional experts raising concerns regarding federalism, democratic accountability and the practical challenges of synchronising election cycles across states with different political timelines.
-OdishaAge
