House panel on joint polls meet: Economists flag costs of repeated polls, suggest different plans

It is learnt that Panagariya highlighted the delays in policymaking, reforms and the work of Constitutional bodies like the Finance Commission due to the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

Bhalla is learnt to have said that the imposition of MCC impacts state governments more than the Union Government as the Lok Sabhas of the past two decades have completed their full terms.

Bhalla is also learnt to have proposed that State elections can be held together at the mid-term period of a Lok Sabha, reducing the frequency of elections while ensuring that the governments remain accountable.

While Panagariya and Bhalla are learnt to have supported the idea of simultaneous elections, Ahluwalia is learnt to have said that the economic cost of holding elections cannot be the sole reason for shifting to joint polls.

The committee was set up on December 23, 2024 to consider the two Bills introduced by the government for implementing simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 synchronises the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies’ terms, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 does the same for UT Assemblies. As per the Bills, the President would notify the date of the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after an election as the “appointed date”. All State and UT Assemblies elected after this appointed date would then have their terms curtailed in order to end with the term of that Lok Sabha, paving the way for simultaneous polls.

From the homepage

Punjab DIG Bhullar sent to 14-day judicial custody in bribery case

Suryakumar Yadav at Express Adda LIVE: Would’ve been a good businessman had I not been playing cricket, says Suryakumar

More skeletons tumble out in Odisha SI paper leak: Rooms booked for 110 aspirants in Bengal while 114 were taken to Andhra