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        <hl1 id="Headline1" class="1" style="Headline1">
          <lang class="3" style="Headline1" font="Chronicle Display" fontStyle="Roman" size="23">One Nation, One Election rollout likely by ’29: Panel   </lang>
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      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Italic" size="9">Continued from P1</lang>
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9"></lang>
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      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">He said that the committee has visited several states, including Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, where it interacted with constitutional experts, civil society organisations, educationists and other stakeholders.</lang>
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        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">An overwhelming majority of those consulted have supported the idea of simultaneous elections, said the BJP MP from Pali in Rajasthan.</lang>
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        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">“We have found that almost 99 per cent of stakeholders, particularly from civil society and various organisations, favour simultaneous elections. The effort now is to evolve a mechanism that is acceptable to all political parties,” he said.</lang>
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        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">Asked about the timeline for implementation, he said the committee was examining various options, indicating that the reform could become operational by the time the next general elections are due in 2029.</lang>
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        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">He said there is also a possibility of bringing some states into alignment before that if political parties and the chief ministers voluntarily agree to synchronise their electoral cycles.</lang>
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        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">Highlighting the economic rationale behind the proposal, Chaudhary cited findings placed before the high-level committee headed by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind.</lang>
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        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">He said that an economic study submitted to the Kovind committee estimated that holding elections separately across the country results in an economic loss of nearly Rs 7 lakh crore, while synchronised elections could generate equivalent gains for the national economy.</lang>
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