Insta
Elections in India. (Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
The Election Commission (EC) in its response to a plea filed in the Supreme Court has said that it supports a ‘one candidate, one seat’ policy which seeks to stop candidates from contesting on multiple seats, The New Indian Express has reported.
At present, candidates can contest from two seats in the Lok Sabha and Legislative assembly polls, necessitating by-polls if they win from both seats. This practice leads to a wastage of state resources as the entire election machinery has to be put in place again.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the per constituency cost of conducting elections was Rs 5 crore approximately, up from Rs 2-3 crore during the 2009 elections. And it is set to go up further in future elections.
The petition against the practice was filed by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay after which the EC filed an affidavit in the apex court supporting the petition.
The case is now set to be heard by the top court on 2 July.
The practice of fighting polls from two seats is quite common in India with many top party leaders having fought elections from multiple seats. A 1996 amendment to the Representation of the People Act limited candidates to only seats before which they were free to contest as many seats as they could.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest