Simultaneous polls could save Rs 7 lakh crore: Joint parliamentary panel chief

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — colle...

What Happened

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — collectively framing the 'One Nation, One Election' (ONOE) proposal — heard presentations from officials in Gujarat, contributing to the committee's deliberations on the economic and governance case for simultaneous elections.
The 41-member JPC chairperson stated that holding Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assembly elections simultaneously could save approximately Rs 7 lakh crore and increase GDP growth by 1.5–1.6 percentage points.
Economists consulted by the committee estimated that frequent elections impose economic costs through disruption of administrative machinery, enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which temporarily freezes policy announcements, and large-scale temporary labour migration — approximately five crore workers — returning to native places for voting, affecting industrial production and GST collections.
The JPC is also examining the possibility of redirecting election savings to infrastructure, healthcare, education, and welfare programmes.

Static Topic Bridges

Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024

The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 17 December 2024 and referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee on 19 December 2024. It proposes to insert Article 82A into the Constitution to synchronise the terms of the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies. The framework provides that, starting from a "appointed date" notified by the President, all state assembly terms will be aligned to expire with the end of the Lok Sabha's five-year term. If a Lok Sabha or state assembly is dissolved early, the subsequent election will be held only for the remainder of the five-year cycle.

Article 82A(1–6) to be inserted to operationalise simultaneous elections.
Companion legislation: Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, amends the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963; the Government of NCT of Delhi Act, 1991; and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
The Lok Sabha passed the motion to refer the bill to a 39-member (later 41-member) JPC with 269 votes in favour and 198 against.
Proposal was first recommended by the Law Commission of India in 1999 and 2018, and by the Kovind Committee report (2024).

Connection to this news: The JPC's economic modelling of Rs 7 lakh crore in savings forms the evidentiary basis that will underpin the committee's final recommendation on whether to proceed with this fundamental restructuring of India's election cycle.

Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

The Model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India that comes into force when election schedules are announced and remains operative until results are declared. It restricts the ruling dispensation from making new policy announcements, inaugurating development projects, or using government machinery for electoral advantage during the election period. The MCC is not a statutory instrument but derives its authority from the Election Commission's constitutional mandate under Articles 324 to 329.

Article 324 vests superintendence, direction, and control of elections in the Election Commission of India.
The MCC typically applies for 6–8 weeks per election cycle; with India holding elections in multiple states almost continuously, effective policy paralysis can last for extended periods.
The MCC has been in force for a cumulative 200+ days in some years due to staggered state elections.

Connection to this news: Proponents of ONOE argue that collapsing all elections into a single cycle would dramatically reduce the period during which the MCC freezes policy action, improving governance continuity — a key economic argument behind the Rs 7 lakh crore savings estimate.

Federal Structure and Constitutional Constraints on ONOE

Articles 83 and 172 of the Constitution govern the duration of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies respectively, providing for a five-year maximum term subject to dissolution. Aligning state assembly terms to the Lok Sabha cycle raises federalism questions: Article 356 allows the President's Rule to be imposed and assemblies to be suspended or dissolved, which could create mid-cycle misalignments requiring fresh elections for the remainder of the term rather than a full five-year mandate.

Article 83: Lok Sabha shall continue for five years from its first sitting unless sooner dissolved.
Article 172: State legislature shall continue for five years from its first sitting.
Article 356: President's Rule can dissolve a state assembly; under the ONOE framework, a fresh election would be for only the unexpired portion of the Lok Sabha term, reducing state assembly tenure.
Critics argue this makes state governments structurally subordinate to the Centre's electoral cycle, weakening federalism.

Connection to this news: The JPC's task is not just to assess economic savings but to resolve the constitutional architecture — whether truncating state assembly terms after a dissolution is consistent with the federal character of the Constitution, which is part of the basic structure doctrine articulated in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973).

Kovind Committee on ONOE (2024)

A High-Level Committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind submitted its report in March 2024, recommending a phased implementation of ONOE. The committee examined 47 political parties (32 in favour, 15 against), reviewed international comparisons (Sweden, South Africa, Germany, etc.), and proposed a two-phase rollout: first synchronising Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, and subsequently integrating local body elections.

Committee submitted its report to the President on 14 March 2024.
Recommended constitutional amendments to Articles 82, 83, 172, 327, and 324; and insertion of Article 82A.
Estimated that India has spent Rs 1,00,000 crore on elections since 1951; election frequency has increased substantially with political fragmentation.
Recommended a single electoral roll for all tiers of elections (Lok Sabha, Assemblies, local bodies) to reduce duplication.

Connection to this news: The JPC's examination of the 129th Amendment Bill directly implements the legislative pathway recommended by the Kovind Committee; the Rs 7 lakh crore figure builds on the committee's economic reasoning.

Key Facts & Data

Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024: introduced 17 December 2024; referred to JPC 19 December 2024.
JPC composition: 41 members (originally 39 members when formed).
Estimated savings from simultaneous elections: Rs 7 lakh crore (economists consulted by JPC).
Estimated GDP growth boost: 1.5–1.6 percentage points.
Approximate labour force disrupted per election cycle: 5 crore workers migrating temporarily.
Constitutional articles to be amended: Articles 82, 83, 172, 327 (and new Article 82A to be inserted).
Companion bill: Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Lok Sabha vote to refer to JPC: 269 in favour, 198 against.
Kovind Committee report submitted: 14 March 2024.
India's total election spending since 1951: estimated at Rs 1,00,000 crore.