The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the proposed 'One Nation, One Election' initiative heard sharply contrasting views from Goa's political leadership on Friday, with the BJP-led government strongly endorsing the proposal while Opposition parties urged caution and called for wider electoral reforms before any constitutional changes are made.

The committee, headed by P. P. Choudhari, is consulting stakeholders across the country on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and related legislation that seeks to synchronise elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant reiterated the Goa government's support for simultaneous elections, stating that the proposal would minimise repeated election cycles, allow governments to focus on governance and development, and reduce administrative and financial burdens. He said Goa's ministers shared their suggestions with the committee and expressed confidence that the proposal would move forward.

Senior BJP leader and JPC member Anurag Thakur described 'One Nation, One Election' as a potential "game changer" for India, saying it would strengthen governance and improve policy continuity.

JPC Chairperson P. P. Choudhari said the committee's objective is to gather feedback from all stakeholders before finalising its recommendations. He noted that Goa's ministers supported the proposal and added that some states could voluntarily align their election schedules by 2029, depending on future political and legislative developments.

While supporting the concept, Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar argued that meaningful implementation would require amendments to the anti-defection law. He said frequent political defections often destabilise governments and that strengthening the legal framework against defections should be a priority before simultaneous elections are introduced. Dhavalikar also remarked that he has remained with the same political party for over 25 years, claiming he is the only legislator in Goa who has never changed parties.

The Opposition, however, opposed the proposal during its interaction with the committee.

Representatives of the Congress, Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) submitted their objections and recommendations, arguing that electoral reforms should focus first on strengthening democratic institutions rather than synchronising elections.

The AAP delegation—Valmiki Naik, Gerson Gomes and Shyam Kolamkar—submitted a written representation contending that Parliament should amend the anti-defection law before pursuing simultaneous elections. The party alleged that the existing provisions have been misused to encourage political defections, topple elected governments and weaken the Opposition, and maintained that these concerns must be addressed before implementing the proposed reform.