Hans News Service New Delhi

Thejoint committee of Parliament examining the bills on simultaneous elections is working to create a mechanism that could make the 'One Nation, One Election' reform fully operational by the 2029 General Elections, its chairperson said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the panel's two-day meeting in Goa, PP Chaudhary claimed that nearly 99 per cent of civil society stakeholders consulted so far have backed the proposal, which aims to curb an estimated Rs 7 lakh crore economic loss caused by frequent polls. The committee began its deliberations in Goa on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, with an interaction with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and members of his cabinet, seeking their views on the challenges involved in implementing simultaneous elections and ways to address them. "We had an informal interaction with the chief minister and cabinet ministers, who represent the people of Goa. We discussed how 'One Nation, One Election' can be implemented, what challenges exist and how they can be mitigated while maintaining a fine balance acceptable to all," Chaudhary said.

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.

An overwhelming majority of those consulted have supported the idea of simultaneous elections, said the BJP MP from Pali in Rajasthan.

"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.