Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana on Tuesday, 14 July voiced strong support for the 'One Nation, One Election' proposal before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) visiting Lucknow, arguing that simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies would conserve time, public money, and administrative bandwidth. Opposition parties — the Indian National Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) — used the same platform to register firm objections to the constitutional reform.

What the JPC Is Examining

The 39-member parliamentary panel, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP P.P. Chaudhary, is on a three-day visit to Lucknow as part of a multi-state consultation exercise on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — the two legislative vehicles designed to enable simultaneous elections nationwide. The committee met government representatives, opposition leaders, constitutional experts, and other stakeholders at a hotel in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow.

The panel has already held consultations in Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Goa before arriving in Uttar Pradesh.

UP Speaker and State Ministers Back the Proposal

Addressing the committee, Speaker Mahana said the concept had been in public discourse for a long time and would benefit political parties, elected representatives, and ordinary citizens alike. He argued that recurring elections impose a heavy burden on lawmakers, security forces, and the administrative machinery, keeping them locked in perpetual campaign mode rather than focused on governance.

'Simultaneous elections will enable elected representatives to devote more time to governance and public welfare instead of being constantly engaged in election campaigns,' Mahana said.

Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi welcomed the JPC and drew on historical precedent, noting that from 1952 to 1967, Lok Sabha and all state Assembly elections were held together. 'That system saved time and significantly reduced the financial burden caused by repeated elections,' he said. State Cabinet Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma described the proposal as a 'visionary initiative' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called for its earliest implementation, dismissing opposition criticism as lacking substance.

Congress and SP Register Objections

Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai told the committee that the Congress remains categorically opposed to the bill. 'The Congress party is definitely against 'One Nation, One Election' because the government wants to implement the entire process according to its own framework and arrangements. We have clearly registered our objections and stated that we oppose this amendment Bill,' Rai said.

SP MLA Lal Bihari Yadav raised a different set of concerns, arguing that the country should first address systemic inequalities in education before pursuing electoral synchronisation. 'Before implementing 'One Nation, One Election', the country should introduce 'One Nation, One Education'. Different boards and curricula exist across the country, and the poor and the rich have different education systems,' he said. Yadav also questioned the practical viability of the proposal in scenarios where a state Assembly is dissolved before completing its term.

What Happens Next

The views and recommendations gathered across all state consultations will feed into the JPC's final report on the proposed electoral reform. The committee's findings are expected to shape the legislative path of the two bills before they return to Parliament for debate and voting. The breadth of the consultation — spanning at least nine states — signals the government's intent to build a wide stakeholder record, even as political opposition to the bills remains sharp.