Frequent polls may hit reforms: Panagariya

{ AHEAD OF DEPOSITION

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran [e-mail]

Arvind Panagariya

Having to contest elections in one or more states every few months makes the Union government hesitant to undertake reforms, economist and chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, Arvind Panagariya, has said in his submission to the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the 129th Constitution Amendment Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which are intended to facilitate simultaneous polls in the country, according to people aware of the details.

Panagariya, who is scheduled to attend the committee meeting on Wednesday along with other economists, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and former member of the Prime Minister's economic advisory council Surjit S Bhalla, is learnt to have weighed in favour of simultaneous elections pointing out that the implementation of the model code of conduct (MCC) before elections "interrupts policymaking, delays procurement and project execution, and shortens the effective reform window for governments". To be sure, the MCC is implemented only for the duration of the polls and bars governments from making new announcements or policy decisions, but does not impede ongoing work or undertake new projects in cases of exigencies.

Pointing out that to ensure one election per state or union territory with legislature within a single five-year election cycle, he said that an election happens approximately every four and a half months-resulting in 13 rounds of elections in all - and that dissolutions of state assemblies before their full five-year terms leads to an even higher frequency of election rounds.