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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

19/06/22 19:03 PM IST

Candidates will not be able to contest elections from more than one seat

In News 
  • The Election Commission is now said to be pushing for an amendment in the Representation of the People Act in order to impose a ban on people from contesting polls from more than one seat.
Existing law 
  • As per the existing electoral law, a candidate is allowed to file nominations from two different constituencies in a general election or a group of bye-elections or biennial elections.
  • Since one individual is allowed to represent only one constituency in a legislative or parliamentary body, he/she has to vacate the other seat in case victories were registered on both seats.
  • Way back in 1996, the government had amended the Representation of the People Act to bar a person from contesting elections from more than two seats.
  • Prior to the amendment, an individual was permitted to contest polls from as many seats as he wanted.
Need for an Amendment 
  • The ECI has said that if such a bar cannot be imposed on candidates, then at least a hefty fine should be imposed on people who vacate one of the seats after winning in elections and force a bypoll.
  • 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.
  • At that time, the Commission had proposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh for the State Assembly and Legislative Council election and Rs 10 lakh for the Lok Sabha election. Now, the ECI believes a revision in the amount is required.
  • The Commission believes holding a bypoll in such cases leads to an unnecessary financial burden on the public exchequer. Further, it is also an injustice to the voters of the seat which the candidate is vacating.
    Source- TimesNow 

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