“One Nation, One Election” Momentum Grows: JPC (The Joint Parliamentary Committee) Gears Up for Mumbai Meet, Nationwide Consultations Underway

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on "One Nation, One Election" is ramping up its countrywide outreach, with its next high-level meeting coming up in Mumbai on May 19. Led by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, the 42-member panel is interacting with a wide range of stakeholders in states to discuss the ambitious plan to align Lok Sabha and state assembly polls.

 

Key Highlights:

 

The JPC inaugurated its all-states tour in Maharashtra on May 17-18, meeting state officials, political parties, the Reserve Bank of India, large banks, insurance companies, and farmer organizations to evaluate the administrative, economic, and constitutional costs and benefits of simultaneous elections.

 

Mumbai’s session saw robust discussions, with ruling parties and financial sector representatives largely supporting the reform, citing potential savings of ₹4.5 lakh crore and a projected 1.6% GDP boost by streamlining the electoral process. Opposition parties, however, voiced concerns over practicality and constitutional challenges.

 

The committee will further hold its consultations in Uttarakhand (May 19-21), Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh, and Punjab during June, ensuring that voices from every region and sector-public undertakings and film industry-included-are heard.

 

Transparency is paramount: the JPC will shortly introduce a multilingual website with a QR code capability to gather public inputs, seeking inclusive engagement of citizens, experts, and civil society.

 

Legal experts, such as former Supreme Court and High Court judges, are being sought advice from in order to answer constitutional questions and sharpen the proposed bills.

 

The JPC's initiative is a turning point in determining India's electoral future.

 

Sources: Hindustan Times, Economic Times, ABP Live