Gujarat's industrial sector, including the textile manufacturing hub of Surat, faces an estimated annual production loss of ₹12,000–₹15,000 crore due to repeated election cycles and the large-scale migration of workers they trigger, industry leaders said on Monday, 25 May. The figures emerged during consultations held in Gujarat by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the 'One Nation, One Election' (ONOE) proposal.

JPC Consultations in Gujarat

The committee, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP P. P. Chaudhary, has been conducting multi-state stakeholder consultations to assess the feasibility of synchronising Lok Sabha, State Assembly, and other elections across India. The panel is examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and associated legislative proposals enabling simultaneous nationwide elections. The Gujarat leg saw participation from state officials, legislators, and industry representatives.

Scale of Migrant Labour Dependency

Pathik Patwari, Chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (Gujarat chapter) and former president of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), said the state's manufacturing economy is structurally dependent on migrant labour. 'Official estimates place migrant workers in Gujarat at around 30 lakh, while industry-level assessments suggest the figure could be as high as 40–45 lakh,' he said. These workers primarily come from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal, and are engaged across textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, diamonds, and emerging sectors such as semiconductors and automobiles.

How Elections Disrupt Production

Patwari explained that although voting takes place on a single day, the associated migration cycle stretches far longer. 'The election might be for one day, but workers travel around 15 days in advance and return after about 15 days,' he said, meaning industrial output is effectively disrupted for nearly a month per election cycle. He estimated that production declines by around 15–20 per cent during these periods, and noted that the disruption recurs multiple times owing to staggered local body, state, and national elections. Gujarat's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated at approximately ₹27.9 lakh crore, underscoring the scale of economic activity exposed to this recurring disruption.

Surat's Textile Sector: The Hardest Hit

A representative of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) — an apex trade body established in 1940 representing more than 13,000 direct members and over a lakh indirect members — provided sector-specific data on Surat's textile economy. The industry records a monthly production scale of approximately ₹8,000 crore. Based on an estimated 15 per cent productivity impact during election cycles, the monthly output loss translates to roughly ₹1,200 crore per affected period. Surat's textile sector alone employs around 15 lakh migrant workers, largely from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. The sector's ecosystem comprises approximately 22,000 weaving units, 400 processing houses, around 20 spinning units, about 20 yarn units, nearly 250 knitting units, and 2,000–2,500 garmenting units, with weaving and processing being the most labour-intensive segments. The diamond industry in Surat employs an estimated three lakh migrant workers but is comparatively less affected due to differences in production structure.

Model Code of Conduct and Administrative Delays

Industry representatives also flagged that repeated election cycles trigger administrative slowdowns under the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), during which policy decisions, subsidy disbursements, land approvals, and industrial clearances are often delayed for weeks or months. 'Such delays increase interest costs, postpone investment decisions, and affect industrial expansion timelines,' they said. Patwari added that election periods further disrupt government functioning through the deployment of administrative personnel for election duties across districts and states. Public statements made during the JPC visit also referenced projections suggesting that simultaneous elections could save up to ₹7 lakh crore and improve administrative efficiency and GDP growth, though estimates vary depending on methodology and assumptions used.

The JPC is expected to continue its multi-state consultation process before submitting its findings to Parliament.