Goa, 10 July 2026

 

As part of its ongoing study visit, the Joint Committee on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty–Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 held a series of consultations with a wide spectrum of stakeholders in Goa on 10 July 2026 to elicit their views on the issue of Simultaneous Elections.

The day's programme commenced with an interaction between the Committee under the Chairperson of Honourable Shri P P Chaudhary and the State Political Executive as well as Hon'ble Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant and his cabinet Ministers Shri Sudin  Dhawalikar, Shri Digambar Kamat, Shri Shubhash Shirodkar and Shri Subhash Faldesai interacted with the Committee during which various aspects relating to the implementation and implications of simultaneous elections were discussed.

This was followed by an informal discussion with senior officers of the Government of Goa, including the Chief Secretary Dr V Candavelou, Director General of Police Shri Alok Kumar, representatives of the Finance held by CS, Home, Education, Tourism, Agriculture, Industries and Health Departments, the Labour Department, and the Chief Electoral Officer, Goa Dr Sanjay Goel. The deliberations focused on the administrative, logistical, financial and electoral preparedness/challenges required for conducting simultaneous elections.

The Committee desired that state departments conduct a study on the effects of staggered vs simultaneous elections.

In the post-lunch session, the Committee interacted with  political dignitaries and representatives of the State units of National and Regional Political Parties. The participants shared their views on the constitutional, political and practical dimensions of simultaneous elections.

The Committee thereafter held discussions with representatives of Goa University, IIT Goa, NIT Goa, senior advocates and representatives of the Goa High Court Bar Association. The interaction provided an opportunity to hear academic, legal and constitutional perspectives on the proposed electoral reforms.

The final session of the day was devoted to consultations with representatives of leading industry and business organisations, including  ASSOCHAM, FICCI, CII, the Hotel Industry/Associations, IRCTC, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) and the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). The stakeholders offered their views on the likely economic, business and governance implications of simultaneous elections.

The Committee noted the suggestions and viewpoints presented by the various stakeholders.

These consultations form part of the Committee's endeavour to gather diverse opinions and inputs from different sections of society before finalising its Report on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty–Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The Committee will be having discussion with Hon’ble Speaker, GLA and other organisations on 11 July 2026.

 

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(Source : Lok Sabha Secretariat) | PIB Panaji | Nana Meshram/Ambadas Yadav/Darshana Rane

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