Mumbai: “One Country, One Election” (Onoe) Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) will visit Maharashtra on Saturday. The committee will meet with all stakeholders, including the state government, to simultaneous elections for the General Assembly and Lok Sabha.
A senior state official said the state government will support onoe through a report referring to the committee led by Sudhir Mungantiwar. “This exercise is being held in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections at the same time as the parliamentary elections,” the senior official said.
In March 2018, the Maharashtra government formed a two-member committee under the chair of then-Finance Minister Sudhir Mungatiwar, recommending measures to make the election process transparent and to study the possibility of simultaneous elections. The committee favors simultaneous elections. The senior official refers to the report of the Mongativar Commission, saying: “The frequent impact of elections is because the government must participate in the electoral duties of its resources and employees. In addition, the expenditure of elections has also been doubled.”
Mungantiwar said in the newspaper that during the period 1951-52, there were 100 crore rupees in the elections in Maharashtra. Now, the spending of the election has increased by Rs 5,000 to Rs 60,000 crore in Maharashtra. In addition to that, the model’s code of conduct also hinders the pace of decision-making, he said.
“Elections are also an additional burden on national institutions and security forces. If elections are held at the same time, the state will save money and relieve pressure on national governments,” the former finance minister said.
In December 2024, Lok Sabha formed 39 JPC members to review the Constitution (129 Amendments) Act of 2024, as well as the amendments to the United Territorial Government Act of 1963, aiming to usher in the convening of state and state elections simultaneously.
Officials said the JPC will hold a meeting at a five-star hotel in southern Mumbai. The Commission will discuss finance, income, family education, higher technical education and law and the logistical and possible challenges of the judicial sector from 10.00am to 01.00am. In addition, the Director General of Police and the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra will also attend the meeting. JPC will also hold meetings with all political parties from 2.00 pm to 4.00 PM.
“We will inform them how they can save machinery, resources and money by holding elections simultaneously in the state,” the official said.
The senior official said they will notify JPC how many booths and EVMs are needed for the state to elect at the same time.
