P P Chaudhary, Chairman of the JPC, said on Saturday that holding State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously is in the country’s best interest.
He expressed these views at a dialogue on ‘One Nation One Election’ organised by the Joint Parliamentary Study Committee.
He said that if this shared system is successfully implemented, the country will have a stable framework for the next 100 years.
“‘One Nation, One Election’ must be implemented. Holding State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections at the same time is in the country’s best interest,” he told reporters.
Phased voting clarification under ‘One Nation One Election’
He clarified that ‘One Nation, One Election’ does not mean all voting will take place on a single day. Instead, elections will be held in phases, based on the Election Commission’s convenience.
Reform vision linked to Viksit Bharat
The Lok Sabha member also called it a major electoral reform that future generations will remember, as it will help achieve the vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.
JPC consultations with political representatives
The JPC, which also includes Lok Sabha member Sambit Patra among others, met earlier in the day with representatives of various political parties, including Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra, and former Union Minister Veerappa Moily.
Concerns over election cycle and governance costs
Noting that elections currently take place throughout the year across the country’s states and union territories, Chaudhary said this leads to unnecessary expenditure of taxpayers’ money.
Additionally, the Model Code of Conduct often diverts officials from their regular duties. As a result, important welfare schemes for the poor get delayed, causing inconvenience to the public, he added.
Continuous elections also create uncertainty, which may make foreign investors hesitant to invest in India, he said, adding that all of this directly or indirectly affects the economy, general administration, and education.
Push for consensus and synchronised election cycle
Chaudhary said the committee aims to build consensus among its members to recommend a strong law to Parliament—one that is acceptable to all and beneficial to the country.
He noted that by aligning the remaining state elections, all elections across the country could be synchronised into a single cycle by 2034.
Constitutional roadmap and global models
“For example, if a state has an election in 2032, its government’s term would be adjusted to end in 2034 to sync with the national schedule. This will require a constitutional amendment. Maintaining synchronised elections in a democracy is a challenging task,” he said, in a statement.
“To address the possibility of a government falling before completing its tenure due to a no-confidence motion, the committee may suggest adopting the German model (where a new leader is chosen before removing the current one) or the Japanese model (where the leader is elected on the floor of the House),” he added.
Anti-defection law and long-term stability vision
The Anti-Defection Law would also need to be updated to support this, he further said, adding, “If this shared system is successfully implemented, the country will have a stable framework for the next 100 years.”
Published on May 16, 2026