The Parliamentary Joint Committee reviewing the simultaneous elections Bills met with a group of prominent media persons on Monday (October 5, 2026), despite a written objection from at least one member against including television anchor Sudhir Chaudhary among the witnesses.
Three media personalities — Anjana Om Kashyap (Aaj Tak) and Mr. Chaudhary (DD News) — advocated for the legislation, arguing that it would save a substantial amount of the national exchequer. Another television anchor, Rahul Sinha (Zee News), backed the Bill but recommended reviewing the powers given to the Election Commission, a recurring criticism of the legislation. The panel also met economists V. Anantha Nageswaran, S. Mahendra Dev, and S.
The media witnesses presented divergent assessments of the One Nation, One Election legislation, according to sources. Gurumurthy, who, according to sources, unanimously backed the reform arguing that the frequent election cycle diverts resources, contributes to policy paralysis, and keeps governance focused on electoral campaigns rather than administration. Raj Chengappa (India Today) and Shekhar Gupta (The Print) both expressed reservations about the legislation, arguing that renewing the mandate at regular intervals sustains Indian democracy.
