By Advocate Harish Kumar
Harish Kumar, an advocate practicing in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has emerged as a prominent voice in legal and public policy circles. He regularly appears before the District and Sessions Court complex and the Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court at Sri Vijayapuram. Growing up in the islands has shaped his focus on socio-economic development, improved governance, and justice for local communities.
A Ph.D.-qualified professional eligible for Assistant Professorship, Harish Kumar blends legal practice with academic research and policy engagement. His representation of India at global forums, including the Y20 under the G20 framework and the Ship for World Youth Program (SWY 35) organised by the Cabinet Office of Japan, where he served as National Leader, highlights his international outreach.
He was also appointed by the Ministry as the Youth Icon for the Yuva Connect initiative and participated as a special attendee in the Viksit Bharat Dialogue with the Prime Minister in 2025. His work continues to span law, public policy and civil society initiatives aimed at empowering underserved and remote regions of the country.
India Constitution “A Living Document” represents the consensus of people of India of one of the largest democracy and written constitution of the World. The Constitution of India lays down the foundation for governance on the lines of justice, liberty and equality for the People of India. The recent submission of Report by the RamNath Govind Committee on One Nation One Election aims to synchronize the election for the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and Local Bodies ensuring they are held simultaneously across India. This committee has highlighted this step is vital because it will ensure that a stable governance setup would streamline the election process, reduce the costs of frequent elections, and promote better governance for development of India. NDA government and Bharatiya Janta Party has always been strong advocate for the One Nation One Election since early 90s wherein the importance of this has been highlighted in the Law Commission report of 1999 and also One Nation one Election was listed as one of the Key Policy Reforms in the Electoral Manifesto of Bharatiya Janta Party in Year 2014 and 2019 understanding its importance to reduce the financial burden on the exchequer and improve the efficiency of governance by allowing governments to focus on long-term policy planning rather than being in constant campaign mode.
RATIONALE FOR ONE NATION ONE ELECTION
One Nation One Election has been the part of early India’s Democracy till 1970s which was gradually eroded by the Congress Ruling with rising of new political parties and their urge of having Power with them. Congress who was ruling almost all the states and Centre after enforcement of Constitution of India, in order to retain the power and control of governance with them, Congress has mis-utilised the Constitutional Powers by hook and Crook. In 1971, the Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely by the Congress Ruling government in order to retain power under leadership of Indira Gandhi, this decision broke the cycle of simultaneous elections. During the Congress ruling which undermined the federalism of India , there was frequent misuse of constitutional provisions under Article 356 (President’s Rule), which allowed for the dissolution of state assemblies and which was practiced by them to impose central rule in the states to retain power, this act has undermined the federalism and accountability of the government towards the people. This misuse of power by the Congress ruling Government has not only eroded the faith of the people on the democracy but also undermined the very concept of Constitutionalism which has led to tweaking of certain constitutional provision such as Article 83(2) and 172 (1) which speaks about the term of the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. This act has moisturized the rigid framework of synchronized elections; leading to a more fragmented electoral calendar and the frequent election cycles has caused governance disruptions due to imposition of Model Code of Conduct. Recently, in the Report of NITI AYOG it has highlighted that there is imposition of Model Code of Conduct for about 4 months or more in every year which has negatively impacted administrative and developmental activities in Poll Bound region. This can be well explained as this year in 2024 apart from the Lok Sabha Elections, 6 states were having State Assembly elections and Maharashtra and Jharkhand are in phase of Election.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE
The consensus of people play an important role to elect the People Representative for law making as India being a democratic country elected their representatives through Universal Adult Suffrage, therefore the participation of the People is utmost important for smooth functioning of government and at the same the accountability of such elected government will entrust people faith on the government and the constitution as implied in Article 75 of Indian Constitution, unlike the misuse of constitutional powers in our neighboring countries like Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Committee on One Nation One Election has recommended key changes to the constitutional provisions and other relevant acts which is not contrary or unjust and within permissible limit. The Changes such as amendment of Article 82 by insertion of Article 82(A) would align Lok Sabha and State assemblies by adjusting tenures to synchronize election timelines across India for unified polls wherein amendment to Article 83 and 172 has clarified terminology of full term thus fixing the term of Lok sabha and State Assembly which will handle early or premature dissolution. The committee has also considered to amend Artilce 327, 324 and 325, this will ensure that the Election Commission can create a Single Electoral Roll for elections which will increase the Voter turnout reducing duplicity and fake voters thus better election monitoring and at par simultaneous election will increase the participation of the people and entrust faith in democracy which is sliding year on year. Further the amendments to Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 ; The Government of National Capital Territory Act, 1991; The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 will stitch the social fabric of nation and ensure political stability and allow the elected government to focus on governance instead of being in election mode, as continuous election is leading to policy paralysis because of imposition of Model Code of Conduct. It is imperative that simultaneous election will enhance administrative efficiency and provide stability to focus on long term policy making as instability due to continuous election and change in government is leading to changes in the approach and implementation of policies for public welfare causing unnecessary delays.
CONCLUSION
One Nation, One Election presents a transformative vision for India’s democracy and electoral landscape and underscores the potential benefits where it could lead to substantial cost savings and increased governance efficiency with improved focus on policy making and implementation through major constitutional amendments as recommended. This steps will not only strengthen the political setup of India but it will also upheld the principles of Federalism, accountability of the elected government towards people of India for better governance and this step on implementation will carve the way for development of India and the India’s vision of being Vikshit Bharat by 2047.
