By-elections in Wayanad
Context:
Polling is currently underway for the by-elections in Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and Chelakkara assembly constituency.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Indian Polity)
About By-election:
- It is an election to fill the vacant seats in the legislative bodies of India
- It is also known as Bypolls.
- The main objective of Byelections is to make sure that the vacant seats are timely filled, just so it does not affect the representation of the affected constituency or district in the legislative body.
- By-elections are conducted if a seat becomes vacant due to Death, Resignation, Disqualification, or Expulsion of a sitting member.
- According to the Representation of the People Act (RPA) of 1951,
- Section 151A mandates that by-elections must occur within six months of a vacancy arising.
- However, there are exceptions:
- Section 151A (a): The six-month rule does not apply if less than a year remains in the Parliament’s term.
- Section 151A (b): Bypolls may be postponed if the Election Commission, in consultation with the Central government, certifies that it would be challenging to conduct them within the six-month period.
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