As per the convention, the Election Commission generally does not hold a bypoll if less than a year is to go for the regular election on the seat. The Lok Sabha polls are due in April 2024
Will the Election Commission of India (EC) announce a bypoll soon for the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala which was held by Rahul Gandhi? This could become the next flashpoint between the BJP and the Congress after Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification.
There is speculation in political circles that the announcement for Wayanad bypoll could come soon. The EC is also set to announce the Karnataka state election schedule soon. As per the convention, the EC generally does not hold a bypoll if less than a year is to go for the regular election on the seat. The Lok Sabha polls are due in April 2024.
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Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, mandates the EC to fill the casual vacancies in the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures through by-elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, “provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more”.
Wayanad hence qualifies for a bypoll soon as Gandhi had over a year to go in his term after winning the seat on May 23, 2019. When asked about a possible bypoll announcement from EC soon on the Wayanad seat, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told journalists: “I am not going to be surprised at all… but there is currently a stay on a by-election in Lakshwadeep. We have to take legal recourse.”
In the case of Lakshwadeep MP Mohammand Faizal earlier this year, EC had announced a bypoll on this seat on January 18, within five days of his conviction in an attempt-to-murder case on January 13. But the bypoll scheduled for February 27 was deferred by the EC as the Kerala High Court on January 25 stayed the conviction of Faizal.
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Rahul Gandhi will also approach a Sessions Court in Gujarat for a stay on his conviction by the trial court soon. If the Sessions Court does not decide soon enough on the plea, Singhvi said the Congress would go to the high court and the Supreme Court for intervention.
The Congress could bank on the case of Faizal whose conviction was stayed by the Kerala High Court and the court also emphasised that a by-election would be an additional burden to the exchequer as a regular election was due in 2024.
