One Candidate, One Seat: Election Commission's Affidavit in Supreme Court Supports Amendment
The Election Commission has supported the idea of one candidate being restricted to one seat in the polls so that the exchequer does not have to bear the cost of bye-polls.
New Delhi, April 4: The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday supported the idea of amendment in law and has told Supreme Court (SC) in an affidavit that candidates should not be allowed to contest elections from two seats and that if it happens, the candidate must be made to pay the amount for bye-polls.
The Supreme Court in December, 2017, had issued a notice to the Centre and Election Commission after a petition was filed asking about the loss to exchequer due to bye-elections held on seats vacated by those candidates to fought on two seats. According to law, a candidate can contest election from multiple seats but has to choose one seat that he will represent till the next elections.
The Election Commission in its affidavit has also mentioned that it is injustice to the voters of a constituency who vote for a candidate who choose and retain another constituency.
The Election Commission in the year 2004, had proposed that candidates who contest elections from two seats should be asked to shell out Rs 5 lakh in case of a legislative assembly seat and Rs 10 lakh for the Lok Sabha seat as a result of bearing the expense of the bye-elections on that seat.
The Centre is yet to give its reaction or opinion on the matter. In the year 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had contested from the Vadodara and Varanasi seat and went on to retain the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. Mulayam Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party fought from Azamgarh and Mainpuri Lok Sabha seats and vacated the Azamgarh seat. Bye-elections were held for both the seats after the 2014 General Elections.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2018 03:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).