One Nation, One Election Can Boost GDP Growth: Experts To House Panel

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) proposal on Tuesday heard submissions from senior economists who outlined potential macroeconomic and governance benefits of conducting simultaneous elections.

The meeting, chaired by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, was held in connection with the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

According to sources present at the meeting, Gita Gopinath, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and former First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, told the committee that reducing the frequency of elections could have a positive impact on economic activity.

Gopinath cited empirical evidence to state that private investment tends to slow during election years, with an estimated decline of around five per cent, followed by only a partial recovery in subsequent years. Fewer elections, she said, would help reduce uncertainty and support higher levels of private investment.

She also told the panel that election years are often associated with higher primary deficits and lower capital expenditure, affecting the quality of government spending. According to her submission, moving to simultaneous elections could improve both the efficiency and composition of public expenditure.

Sources said Gopinath referred to estimates by former Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh, stating that the combined impact of these factors could lead to a 1.5 per cent increase in GDP, translating into approximately Rs 4.5 lakh crore in additional output.

Gopinath also highlighted the high cost of elections in India, particularly when political party expenditure is taken into account, and said that ONOE could substantially reduce overall election-related spending. She described the proposal as a macroeconomic reform, sources added.

The committee also heard from Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, who, according to sources, said that while simultaneous elections would result in cost reductions, monetary savings should not be seen as the primary rationale for the reform.

Sanyal told the panel that staggered elections impose significant economic costs due to repeated policy disruptions, frequent enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct and the diversion of political leadership towards election campaigning. These factors, he said, affect policy continuity and governance.

Sources said Sanyal argued that ONOE would enable simultaneous discussion of union and state issues, improve policy coordination and enhance governmental stability, thereby strengthening long-term decision-making.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee is continuing its consultations with experts and stakeholders as part of its examination of the proposed ONOE legislation.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)