In a recent development, the Election Commission of India has extended its support to a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on a candidate contesting from more than one seat in an election. The move by EC can be seen as a landmark in the political history of India.
According to the Representation of People’s Act, a candidate can contest the Lok Sabha or assembly election from two constituencies simultaneously. However, a public interests litigation (PIL) was filed by BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay asking this provision to be scrapped. “The commission is of the view that the law should be amended to provide that a person cannot contest from more than one constituency at a time,” Election commission said in its affidavit.
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The petition relates to the practice of political parties across the country to field senior leaders from more than one seat in a bid to ensure victory. If they win from multiple seats, these leaders are then required to vacate other seats and continue to hold only one. This means a general election is usually followed closely by a bye-election to the seats that have been vacated.
A recent example to this was seen in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested from two seats- Vadodara and Varanasi- and won both, thereby eventually vacating the Vadodara constituency making way for a by-election in the constituency.
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