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 stakeholder consultations in Goa on 10 July 2026 as part of its ongoing study visit. Chaired by Shri P. P. Chaudhary, the Committee sought to elicit the views of a wide spectrum of stakeholders on the issue of Simultaneous Elections.
The programme opened with the State political executive — Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant and cabinet Ministers Shri Sudin Dhawalikar, Shri Digambar Kamat, Shri Shubhash Shirodkar and Shri Subhash Faldesai — on the implementation and implications of simultaneous elections. An informal discussion followed with senior officers of the Government of Goa, including Chief Secretary Dr. V. Candavelou, Director General of Police Shri Alok Kumar, representatives of the Finance, Home, Education, Tourism, Agriculture, Industries, Health and Labour Departments, and the Chief Electoral Officer, Goa, Dr. Sanjay Goel. Deliberations focused on the administrative, logistical, financial and electoral preparedness and challenges involved. The Committee desired that State departments conduct a study on the effects of staggered versus simultaneous elections.
Post-lunch, the Committee interacted with political dignitaries and representatives of the State units of national and regional political parties on the constitutional, political and practical dimensions. Discussions with Goa University, IIT Goa, NIT Goa, senior advocates and the Goa High Court Bar Association brought out academic, legal and constitutional perspectives. The final session covered industry and business organisations — ASSOCHAM, FICCI, CII, hotel industry associations, IRCTC, IREDA and ITDC — on the likely economic, business and governance implications.
These consultations form part of the Committee's endeavour to gather diverse opinions before finalising its Report on the two Bills. It was to meet the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly and other organisations on 11 July 2026.