One Nation, One Election: Economists Tell the JPC That Frequent Polls Hurt Capital Spending
On 5 October 2026, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the "One Nation, One Election" bills heard the views of economists and senior media persons.
The two bills under study are the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Together they aim to hold Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections at the same time.
The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), V. Anantha Nageswaran, told the committee that frequent elections push government spending towards revenue expenditure (day-to-day spending such as subsidies and salaries) and away from capital expenditure (spending that builds roads, railways and other long-lasting assets).
S. Gurumurthy, Chairman of the Vivekananda International Foundation, argued that frequent elections disturb the federal structure, put a strain on administration and keep leaders in constant campaign mode. The economists who appeared broadly supported simultaneous elections.
Some senior journalists argued the other way: that frequent elections give voters regular chances to hold governments accountable.
Separately, several former Chief Justices of India who appeared before the committee earlier have raised concerns about the wide power the bill gives the Election Commission of India (ECI) to defer an Assembly election.
Simultaneous Elections (One Nation, One Election)
Simultaneous elections means holding elections to the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies at the same time, so that a voter casts both votes in one go. India actually did this in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967. The cycle broke after some Assemblies and the Lok Sabha were dissolved early in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Since then, some election is happening somewhere in India almost every year.
The JPC is still collecting views before it gives its report on the two bills. The economists' hearing added a new, fiscal argument to the debate: that a nearly non-stop election cycle changes what kind of spending governments choose.
Revenue Expenditure vs Capital Expenditure
Every rupee a government spends falls into one of two baskets. Revenue expenditure is the money spent to run the government from day to day: salaries, pensions, interest on loans and subsidies. It does not create any lasting asset. Capital expenditure (capex) is money that either creates a long-lasting asset, such as a road, a dam or a hospital building, or reduces what the government owes, such as repaying the principal of an old loan.
The CEA told the JPC that India's nearly non-stop election cycle nudges governments towards quick revenue spending and delays capital projects under the Model Code of Conduct. This turns the revenue versus capital expenditure split into an argument for simultaneous elections. To judge the claim, a student needs to know exactly what each type of spending includes and why capex matters more for long-term growth.
Election Commission of India (Article 324): Powers and Functions
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is the constitutional body that runs elections to Parliament, the State Legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice-President. Article 324 gives it the "superintendence, direction and control" of these elections. Today it has a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. Under the simultaneous elections bill, the ECI would also get the job of running Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together.
Alongside the economic case heard from economists, the JPC also has to settle how much power the ECI should get to delay a state's election. Media representatives and former judges have both asked the committee to rethink these powers before it finalises its report.
- JPC on One Nation, One Election: 39 members (27 Lok Sabha, 12 Rajya Sabha); Chairman P.P. Chaudhary
- Bills examined: Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024; introduced in Lok Sabha on 17 December 2024
- New Article proposed: Article 82A; amends Articles 83, 172 and 327
- Kovind Committee report: March 2024; accepted by the Union Cabinet in September 2024
- Simultaneous elections were held in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967
- CEA's argument: frequent elections shift spending from capital to revenue expenditure
- Budget 2026-27 capex: ₹12.2 lakh crore; effective capex about ₹17.15 lakh crore (4.4% of GDP)
- Article 112(2): Budget must separate revenue expenditure from other expenditure