New Delhi: Eminent economists on Friday appeared before a Parliamentary committee examining a proposed legislation on simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha, Assemblies and local bodies, and gave their “valuable inputs”.
BJP MP P P Chaudhary, Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, said the economists included S Gurumurthy and Shamika Ravi, among others.
“Eminent economists appeared before the committee as stakeholders, and I believe their inputs will be valuable,” Chaudhary said.
The Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024, after which they were referred to the joint Parliamentary committee for examination and suggestions.
They were formulated after a panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind recommended holding Lok Sabha, Assembly and local body elections simultaneously in a phased manner.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also a member of the panel headed by Kovind.
After the adoption of the Constitution, elections to Lok Sabha and all state Assemblies were conducted simultaneously from 1951 to 1967.
The first general elections to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies were held together in 1951-52, a practice that continued for three subsequent general elections in 1957, 1962 and 1967.
However, the cycle of synchronised elections was disrupted in 1968 and 1969 due to the premature dissolution of some state Assemblies. The fourth Lok Sabha was also dissolved prematurely in 1970, with fresh elections held in 1971.
Unlike the first, second and third, which completed their full five-year terms, the fifth Lok Sabha’s term was extended until 1977 under Article 352 because of the declaration of Emergency.
Since then, only a few Lok Sabha terms have lasted the full five years, such as the eighth, 10th, 14th and 15th. Others, including the sixth, seventh, ninth, 11th, 12th and 13th, were dissolved early.
State Assemblies have faced similar disruptions over the years, with premature dissolutions and term extensions becoming a recurring challenge.
These developments have disrupted the cycle of simultaneous elections, leading to the current pattern of staggered electoral schedules across the country.
