Gandhinagar, May 20 (IANS) Concerns over large-scale deployment of security forces, electronic voting machines (EVMs) and logistical preparedness for simultaneous elections dominated discussions on Wednesday as the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal continued its second-day consultations in Gujarat with participation from political parties.

The discussions involved Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) representatives, along with the Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary.

The 39-member JPC, chaired by BJP MP P.P. Chaudhary and comprising 27 Lok Sabha MPs and 12 Rajya Sabha MPs, is studying the constitutional and administrative feasibility of synchronised elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

During the second day of hearings in Gandhinagar, leaders from multiple political parties raised concerns over the scale of infrastructure required if Lok Sabha, Assembly and potentially local body elections were conducted simultaneously, particularly regarding the availability of security personnel, polling machinery and electronic voting infrastructure.

State Congress President Amit Chavda strongly opposed the proposal after the meeting, questioning the logistical and constitutional basis of the exercise.

He said the Congress was “strongly opposed” to the Bill, alleging that it carries a “hidden agenda to centralise power” and weaken the federal structure of the Constitution.

Chavda alleged, “The government’s argument of reducing expenditure was not convincing. Election spending is less than one per cent of the Union Budget. Simultaneous elections would require massive deployment of security forces and the availability of EVMs and VVPAT machines.”

“If Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, municipal corporation, district panchayat and taluka panchayat elections are held together, voters will be confused about which issues to prioritise and how to assess governments,” he said, adding that merging electoral cycles would dilute state and local issues in favour of national narratives.

He also objected to provisions relating to mid-term dissolution of Assemblies, saying that “if a state government falls due to a no-confidence motion, elections would not be held for a full term but only for the remaining period”.

Referring to Constituent Assembly debates, Chavda said: “B.R. Ambedkar had emphasised that elected governments should be given full five-year mandates.”

Congress MLA Imran Khedawala echoed concerns over the practical implementation of the proposal.

Speaking to IANS, he said that while the government claims cost savings, the argument does not reflect ground realities.

“It is not a big expenditure issue for a country of 140 crore people. The more serious concern is the scale of machinery required — EVMs, VVPATs and security deployment,” he added.

He said that different elections involve different governance priorities and warned that combining them could weaken democratic accountability.

The AAP also raised similar concerns during the committee meeting.

State AAP President Isudan Gadhvi, along with MLAs Gopal Italia, Chaitar Vasava, Hemant Khava, Karan Barot and Anup Sharma, participated in the consultation and submitted written representations to the JPC.

Gadhvi questioned the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections across different governance tiers.

“How is this structure even possible when state elections are conducted in multiple phases? Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and local body elections cannot be merged as issues at each level are different,” he said.

He also disputed the government’s cost-saving argument, saying that election expenditure is not a burden on democracy.

“Election spending is around 0.1 per cent of GDP. This is not a cost that should be reduced at the expense of democratic processes,” Gadhvi said, adding that logistical demands would increase significantly under a single-cycle election system.

AAP MLA Gopal Italia suggested an alternative model, proposing that Lok Sabha and Assembly elections could be conducted in separate national cycles rather than a single simultaneous exercise.

He also raised questions over Constitutional arrangements in cases of government collapse, hung assemblies and President’s Rule, asking how mid-term governance transitions would be managed.

On the first day of the visit, the JPC had reviewed a detailed presentation by the state government, where administrative and electoral preparedness models were showcased.

The committee is expected to continue its deliberations before consolidating inputs from political parties and state stakeholders for its final report on the feasibility of implementing simultaneous elections in India, a proposal that could be rolled out from 2029 if Constitutional amendments are approved.

–IANS

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