Banking sector supports, Oppn opposes simultaneous polls

Barring political parties in the opposition, the ruling parties and the financial and banking sector supported the proposed One Nation, One Election legislation, which seeks to hold simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, to streamline the electoral process.

- Surendra P Gangan

MUMBAI:

This emerged during deliberations with the joint parliamentary committee (JPC), in Mumbai as part of its all-states visit, on Saturday.

The 42-member JPC met leaders from political parties, representatives of farmer organisations, leaders from the banking and financial sector, and the administrative heads of various state government departments.

The panel will meet more stakeholders from various sectors, including public undertaking units and the film-making community on Monday.

PP Chaudhary, BJP MP and chairperson of the JPC, said the panel had asked state government departments, and even the financial sector, to submit comprehensive reports to illustrate the impact of separate elections held in the country in various sectors.

He said simultaneous elections would help GDP grow by an additional 1.6% as it would save ₹4.50 lakh crore spent on holding multiple elections across the country.