Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) tasked with examining the proposal for simultaneous Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections will be in Goa on July 10 and 11 as part of its nationwide stakeholder consultations on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative.
The committee, led by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, is reviewing the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The proposed legislation aims to provide the constitutional and legal framework required to conduct Parliamentary and Assembly elections together.
As part of its Goa visit, the panel is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, Cabinet ministers, legislators, senior bureaucrats and the Chief Electoral Officer. The committee will also seek views from political parties, legal professionals, academicians, industry representatives, public sector organisations, business associations, higher educational institutions, civil society members and the media.
Officials familiar with the process said questionnaires had already been circulated to several stakeholders before the visit. Their written responses, along with oral submissions made during the meetings, are expected to assist the committee in preparing its report.
The BJP-led State government is expected to endorse the proposal, arguing that synchronised elections would reduce public expenditure and minimise administrative disruptions caused by repeated polls.
According to government sources, the frequent imposition of the Model Code of Conduct during elections often delays government decisions, infrastructure projects and welfare programmes. They believe a common election cycle would enable governments to function with greater continuity and improve policy implementation.
The Congress, however, is set to oppose the proposal during the consultations. Party leaders are expected to contend that simultaneous elections could disturb India’s federal balance by reducing the independence of State governments and altering the existing constitutional framework.
The party is also likely to argue that separate election cycles provide voters with more frequent opportunities to evaluate governments at both the Centre and the State, thereby strengthening democratic accountability.
The Goa visit is one of several consultations being conducted across the country as the Joint Parliamentary Committee gathers feedback from governments, institutions and political stakeholders before finalising its recommendations on the proposed electoral reform.
