Reviving an almost two-decade-old proposal, the Election Commission has made a recent push for amending legislation to bar folks from contesting from a couple of seat and has mentioned that if it can’t be completed, then a hefty tremendous ought to be imposed on these vacating one of many constituencies and forcing a bypoll.
In a latest interplay with the Legislative Secretary within the Law Ministry, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar made this push for the reform first proposed in 2004.
The Legislative Department is the nodal company within the authorities to cope with points associated to the EC.
As electoral legislation stands right this moment, a candidate is permitted to contest an election from two totally different constituencies in a common election or a gaggle of bye-elections or biennial elections. If an individual is elected from a couple of seat, then the particular person can solely maintain on to one of many seats that she or he received.
In 1996, the Representation of the People Act was amended to limit an individual from contesting polls from, greater than two seats. Before the modification, there was no bar on the variety of constituencies from which a candidate might contest.
The ballot panel proposed modification to sure sections within the RP Act in 2004 to supply that an individual can not contest from a couple of constituency at a time.
“However, in case the existing provisions are to be retained, a candidate contesting from two seats should bear the cost of the bye-election to the seat that the contestant decides to vacate in the event of him or her winning both seats,” a functionary mentioned citing the proposal.
The quantity of tremendous then was proposed at Rs 5 lakh for state meeting and legislative council election and Rs 10 lakh for Lok Sabha election. The ballot panel believes the quantity ought to be appropriately revised.
The Commission believes that when a candidate contests from two seats, it’s crucial that he has to vacate one of many two seats ought to he win each. This, aside from the ensuing unavoidable monetary burden on the general public exchequer and the manpower and different assets for holding by-election in opposition to the resultant emptiness, can be an injustice to the voters of the constituency which the candidate is quitting from.
The Law Commission, which advices authorities on complicated authorized points, had supported the proposal of limiting candidates from a couple of seat. However, it had not endorsed the Commission’s different proposal to require profitable candidates to deposit an applicable sum of money being the expenditure for conducting the elections.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”