Gita Gopinath briefed the Joint Parliamentary Committee reviewing the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to introduce simultaneous elections. File | Photo credit: Reuters
Holding simultaneous elections to state and Union legislatures would be a “positive step” from an economic point of view, says Harvard economist Gita Gopinath, former chief economist and first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But she also warned that implementing the proposed reform would require careful planning to address logistical complexities, according to sources.
Ms. Gopinath briefed the Parliamentary Joint Committee reviewing the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment) Bill 2024, which seeks to introduce simultaneous elections. The panel also met Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, who also supported simultaneous polls.
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“Could spur investment”
In the panel’s written submission, Ms Gopinath is reported to have said that the synchronization of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections could shorten long periods of political uncertainty and spur economic activity. “International research shows that pre-election uncertainty slows down investment. In India, this is compounded by a model code of conduct that freezes new projects during staggered public opinion polls,” she noted. States holding concurrent elections saw stronger post-election growth, she added.
The economist argued that fewer election cycles could also shift public spending toward long-term infrastructure projects. “Election years often see short-term fiscal measures such as subsidies and exemptions crowding out capital investment. Capital spending in India is about 2.5 times GDP compared to transfer programs,” she noted. Synchronization could help governments prioritize infrastructure and boost growth prospects, she said.
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Uncertain cost impact
But while synchronized elections could bring efficiencies and gains, she also warned that international experience, particularly Indonesia’s 2024 election, underscored the risks of fully simultaneous polls. “Indonesia faced record expenses, heavy logistical pressures and unusually high staffing needs, prompting its constitutional court to partially decouple elections from 2029,” it said. While India’s administrative strengths may mitigate some of the problems, the net cost impact remains uncertain.
Ms. Gopinath recommended a systematic review of states such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, which are currently holding concurrent elections, to assess cost-effectiveness and share best practices.
In a similar vein, Mr. Sanyal said that simultaneous elections would reduce spending, adding that this was not the primary reason for introducing this reform. He stressed that delayed elections bring “significant economic costs due to the repeated disruption of political continuity”. He also argued that synchronized polls could enhance government stability, thereby enhancing long-term decision-making and policy planning.
Published – 17 Dec 2025 21:41 IST
