Can A Candidate Contest From Two Lok Sabha Seats Simultaneously? What Happens If He Wins Both?
In July 2004, the Chief Election Commissioner urged the Prime Minister to amend Section 33(7), or else the candidate contesting from two seats should bear the cost of the bypoll to the seat that the contestant decides to vacate in the event of winning both...Read More
Historically, it is not uncommon for a candidate to contest from two Lok Sabha constituencies. Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Raebareli after contesting from Kerala’s Wayanad in the second phase on April 26.
Not just Rahul Gandhi, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has filed nomination from two seats – Kantabanji and Hinjili – in the simultaneous state assembly elections.
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What Does the Law Say?
According to the Representation of People Act, 1951, an individual is legally permitted to simultaneously contest elections from the two Lok Sabha constituencies.
Section 70 of the Representation of People Act stipulates that a candidate can hold only one seat at a time regardless of whether he or she has won from more than one seat.
The provision bars individuals from contesting multiple seats in the Lok Sabha, ensuring representation is not concerned in the hands of one individual. It also promotes fair elections.
A subsection, 33 (7), of the Act, allowing a candidate to contest from two seats, was introduced through an amendment in 1996. Prior to this, there was no bar on the number of constituencies from which a candidate could contest.
What if the Candidate Wins from Both Seats?
The individual can hold only one seat at a time if elected from both. If a candidate wins from two seats, a byelection is necessary from the seat he or she vacates. The opposition to a candidate contesting from many seats was basically due to the fact that many byelections had to be conducted after polls were over.
Over the years, the Election Commission (EC) has supported arguments that candidates should be restricted to contesting from one seat, citing the waste of public money and resources in holding a bypoll if a candidate were to win both seats.
How Many Times the Rule Was Contested?
In 2023, lawyer and BJP member Ashwini Upadhyay petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) to declare Section 33(7) of the Representation of People Act invalid. He said, as quoted by Business Standard, “My petition argued that since ‘one person one vote’ is a foundational principle of our democracy, so should be ‘one candidate one constituency’." The SC dismissed the petition, arguing that it was a matter of legislative policy.
Upadhyay maintained that the current law needs amending, with Law Commission and EC reports arguing restricting the number of seats for a candidate to one.
In 2002, the National Commission recommended discouraging Independent candidates, who are often “dummy" candidates or defectors from their parties, from contesting the polls.
To discourage non-serious candidates from contesting the polls, the EC increased the security deposits, which were Rs 250 for an assembly seat and Rs 500 for a Lok Sabha seat, to Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively, for general seats, and Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively, for seats reserved for Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste candidates.
In July 2004, the Chief Election Commissioner urged the Prime Minister to amend Section 33(7), or else the candidate contesting from two seats should bear the cost of the bypoll to the seat that the contestant decides to vacate in the event of winning both seats. It suggested the candidate should contribute Rs 5 lakh for holding a bypoll on an Assembly seat and Rs 10 lakh on a Lok Sabha seat.
The Law Commission in its 255th report in 2015 agreed with the EC’s suggestion of allowing a candidate to contest one Lok Sabha seat.
Politicians Who Contested from Two Seats
In 1957, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, spelt ‘Atal Behari Bajpai’ in the EC records of the time, contested from three seats in Uttar Pradesh — Mathura, Lucknow, and Balrampur, winning Balrampur on the Jana Sangh ticket. In 1962, he contested from two seats as he did in 1991.
Naveen Patnaik’s father and founder of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Biju Patnaik contested from four Assembly and one Lok Sabha seats in Odisha in 1971.
In the 1980 Lok Sabha Election, and after her loss in 1977, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, for the only time in her electoral career, contested from two seats — Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh’s (now in Telangana) Medak, winning both.
She defeated Vijaya Raje Scindia in Raebareli, and in Medak, her opponents included Janata Party’s S Jaipal Reddy and ‘human computer’ Shakuntala Devi. Indira Gandhi retained Medak, with Arun Nehru winning the subsequent bypoll in Rae Bareli. However, the list of her opponents in Raebareli that year also included Madan Lal Dhartipakad and Bhagwati Prasad Dixit. Madan Lal also contested that year against Charan Singh in Baghpat and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi.
In 1989, former deputy prime minister Devi Lal contested from three seats in three states, Rohtak (Haryana), Sikar (Rajasthan), and Ferozepur (Punjab), winning from the first two.
In 1991, Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati contested from three seats, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, and Haridwar, losing all three.
In 1999, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi contested from Amethi in UP and Bellary in Karnataka. She won both the seats but chose to represent Amethi. She defeated veteran Sushma Swaraj in Bellary. Since the 2004 general election, Sonia Gandhi has been representing and winning Raebareli. This time, she has given up the seat for his son Rahul Gandhi, who will contest from Raebareli, which will go to polls on May 20.
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi fought the Lok Sabha Election from Vadodara in Gujarat and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, and won both the seats. He retained Varanasi. PM Modi is expected to file his nomination from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat today.
In 2019, Rahul Gandhi contested from two constituencies – Amethi in UP and Wayanad in Kerala. He only won from the Wayanad seat.
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