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SC on Candidates Contesting from Two Seats

Context: The Supreme Court has refused to set aside a provision that allows candidates to contest polls from two constituencies simultaneously.

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  • Petition: The plea sought the court to declare Section 33(7) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 invalid and ultra vires.
  • Court’s Views: The court chose to leave the issue to the wisdom of the Parliament by saying that it was a policy matter and an issue concerning political democracy.
  • Government’s views: The government objected to the petition in 2018. It had argued that the law cannot curtail the candidate’s right to contest elections and curtail the polity’s choice of candidates.
    • The government further added that the one-candidate-one-constituency restriction would require a legislative amendment.
  • Views of the Election Commission: The EC supported the idea of an amendment to Section 33(7).
    • If a candidate contests from two constituencies and wins from both, he/she will have to resign from one of the seats, resulting in a by-election.
    • Such a by-election would require unwanted additional expenditure, which can be avoided by restricting contests from more than one seat.
Representation of People Act, 1951
Representation of People Act, 1951

What is the Need to Contest from Two Seats?

  • Increase influence: Political leaders contest from two seats in order to extend their influence over the region and help win more seats for the party.
  • Back-up option: Candidates not sure of their victory in one constituency contest from another in order to have a backup option.

Issues Arising due to Contest from two Seats

  • Waste of resources: Campaigning and contesting in more than one seat can be a waste of resources and money, both for the candidate and the government.
  • Burden on the public exchequer: After giving up one of the seats, a by-election is immediately triggered, which is a burden on Public Exchequer.
  • Contradictory provision: Since Section 70 of RPA bars candidates from representing two constituencies in the Lok Sabha/state Assembly, it would be unnecessary to allow them to contest from two seats.
  • Violate principles of democracy: In a democracy where one person has one vote, it would be unfair to allow the candidate to contest from two seats.
  • Injustice to voters: Quitting a winning constituency would be injustice to voters of the constituency, who have voted for the candidate.
  • Non-representation: Since by-elections are to be held within the maximum period of 6 months, the constituency will go unrepresented if the winning candidate resigns from the seat.
Section 33(7) of the Representation of People Act, 1951
Section 33(7) of the Representation of People Act, 1951

Way Forward

  • Cost burden on candidate: EC had suggested that a candidate should deposit an amount of Rs 5 lakh for contesting in two seats in an Assembly election or Rs 10 lakh in a general election.
    • The deposited amount would be used to cover the expenses for a by-election in the eventuality that he or she would win in both constituencies and had to relinquish one.
  • Declaring runners-up as winner: Another suggestion is to declare the candidate securing the second-highest vote share as the winner in case the constituency is vacated by the winning candidate.

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Which Court has refused to set aside a provision that allows candidates to contest polls from two constituencies simultaneously?

The Supreme Court has refused to set aside a provision that allows candidates to contest polls from two constituencies simultaneously.

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