EC supports petition against contesting multiple seats

NEW DELHI: Crucial by-elections like that in Ampati might not happen again with the Election Commission (EC) supporting a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to prohibit candidates from contesting more than one seat in elections.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud heard the matter which will come up again in July. The court is awaiting the Centre’s response.
The poll 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, its affidavit said. The EC also referred to a Law Commission report that had cited expenditure, time, election fatigue and harassment caused to voters as reasons behind the recommendation.
Currently, under the Representation of the People Act, a candidate is allowed to contest from two constituencies simultaneously during a Lok Sabha or an Assembly election. BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has filed a public interest litigation asking to change the provision.
The EC told the court that it had proposed an amendment to Section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act in July 2004 as one of the 22 “urgent electoral reforms” suggested to a Rajya Sabha parliamentary standing committee.
The EC affidavit also suggested that the legislature amend the law such that if a person wins from two seats, he/she will have to foot the bill of the by-poll that will necessarily take place because the person will have to resign from one of the constituencies.
In the Meghalaya Assembly elections in February, former Congress chief minister Mukul Sangma contested from two seats, Ampati and Songsak. While his party lost the election, the leader won from both constituencies necessitating the by-poll.
Parties often expect that when big names or popular leaders contest from more than one seat it convinces more people to come out and vote. However, this practice has been criticised several times in the past, especially for the burden it puts on the exchequer, both the Law Commission and the Election Commission.