Opinion | National Or Regional Parties - Who Really Stands To Gain From Simultaneous Polls?

Updated: Sep 21, 2026 18:46 pm IST Published On Sep 21, 2026 18:33 pm IST Last Updated On Sep 21, 2026 18:46 pm IST

Published On Sep 21, 2026 18:33 pm IST

Last Updated On Sep 21, 2026 18:46 pm IST

The idea of holding Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections together - popularly called "One Nation, One Election" (ONOE) - is back at the centre of India's political agenda. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, has been holding consultations across states, with its chairman PP Chaudhary claiming that an overwhelming majority of stakeholders consulted so far favour simultaneous polls.

Reports suggest the government is now eyeing a 2029 rollout instead of the more distant 2034 timeline originally discussed, which would require aligning the terms of several state assemblies - some through early elections - so that voting across the country converges into a single cycle. If not all states, an Indian Express report suggests that BJP-ruled states (22 currently) could dissolve their assemblies ahead of the 2029 general election to hold simultaneous polls.

Why BJP Wants Simultaneous Polls

The government's stated case for ONOE rests on efficiency: fewer elections mean lower costs, less disruption to governance from the repeated imposition of the Model Code of Conduct, and reduced strain on security forces and administrative machinery that otherwise shuttle between one election and the next almost throughout the year.

The high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, which submitted an extensive report recommending a phased move to simultaneous elections, argued that frequent polls create policy paralysis and disincentivise long-term governance........

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