Simultaneous polls possible in 2029, says panel chief

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Holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies in 2029 under the Modi government's ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative is possible if the Constitution is amended and state governments support the move, according to P.P. Chaudhary, the chairman of the joint parliamentary panel examining the related bills.

The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aim to synchronise Lok Sabha and State Assembly polls, were sent to the 31-member joint committee of Parliament headed by Mr. Chaudhary, a BJP MP from Rajasthan, following the Opposition's demand for broader scrutiny.

When asked if State assembly elections could be held alongside the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, Mr. Chaudhary said on Monday (August 24, 2026) that if the constitutional amendment is approved in Parliament by 2028, the rollout of ‘One Nation, One Election’ can begin that same year.

"Then what is the problem? If the States express their desire in 2029, we can't give the States directions to dissolve their Assembly.”

"They have to make their own decisions. It depends on the respective Chief Ministers and their Council of Ministers. If the Council of Ministers of the States decide in favour of ‘One Nation One Election’, that State elections should be held along with the Lok Sabha polls, then it is possible. It is up to them what they decide. The Indian Constitution allows that; it is permissible.”

"Under the Indian Constitution, the states are empowered to hold simultaneous polls," he told reporters at the Parliament House complex after a meeting of the panel.

The BJP leader said democracy means the will of the people, not the will of the political parties, and everyone has to see what the will of the people is.

"We have visited 10 states and interacted with a cross-section of people, and we have realised that 99 per cent of people, civil society, want simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and State Mssemblies," he said.

Mr. Chaudhary said there may be different opinions of political parties, but the committee has to work together in the interest of the country.

"We have to work on what the people want, what the country wants. We are working with the will of the people. That is why we have invited civil society members to take their opinions," he said.

Mr. Chaudhary said that Parliament gave the panel the mandate to examine and give recommendations on the two Constitution amendment bills.

Two-thirds of members of Parliament have to support the bills for their passage.

Another government-sponsored Constitution amendment bill, the delimitation-linked women reservation bill, which also required support of two-thirds of members of Parliament, was defeated in the Lok Sabha in April.