Now Reading: EAC-PM economists tell House panel staggered polls hit investment
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EAC-PM economists tell House panel staggered polls hit investment
The Story in Brief
Economists from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Friday, 30 October 2026, that India’s current staggered election cycle discourages private investment and imposes costs beyond actual poll expenditure. EAC-PM chairman Prof S Mahendra Dev said election uncertainty leads to contraction in corporate capex, while member Dr Shamika Ravi flagged the impact on low-income families and long-term capital formation. Part-time member Prof Pami Dua cited disruptions from the Model Code of Conduct.
The committee, chaired by BJP MP P P Chaudhary, is examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and related legislation introduced in December 2024. The bills follow a 2024 panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind. The first simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held from 1951 to 1967, the cycle was broken by premature dissolutions from 1968 onward.
Prudent Media separately reported that the committee heard Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant endorse the proposal, while Congress, GFP and AAP opposed it, and Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar called for anti-defection law reforms first.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Economists from the PM's economic advisory council gave the joint parliamentary committee a detailed, cost-focused case for switching to simultaneous elections, according to Indian Express, which reported their individual arguments on private investment, poor household impact and Model Code disruptions. The other outlets, carrying uniform PTI copy, noted only that economists appeared and gave valuable inputs, without any of the substantive reasoning Indian Express attributes to EAC-PM members. Separately, Prudent Media covered the same day's Goa stakeholder hearing, where political parties clashed on the timing of electoral reform. The four PTI-based accounts present the step as procedural progress, while Indian Express and Prudent Media add the concrete objections and conditions that the bare PTI version omits. Together, the accounts show the committee heard both expert economic arguments and partisan political caution, on the same day.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): PTI (carried by theprint.in, economictimes.indiatimes.com, thehindu.com), indianexpress.com (neutral report), prudentmedia.in (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
