EC supports 'one candidate, one seat' proposal

New Delhi : Election Commission on Wednesday told Supreme Court that it supports proposal of allowing one candidate to contest only on one seat during elections. The reply came on a petition that requested SC to bar candidates against contesting from more than one seat.

As per current law, a candidate can contest from a maximum of two constituencies in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections.

The poll panel also notified that the letting a candidate contest from two seats is an “avoidable and unnecessary” burden on the public exchequer. They have notified Central government about it twice in the past.

According to the affidavit filed in the apex court, it is an injustice to voters of the winning candidate who leaves that constituency and retains another.

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, has challenged Section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act of 1951 that allows a person to contest elections to Parliament and state assemblies from two constituencies and sought an end to the practice. Section 33 (7) says that “… a person shall not be nominated as a candidate for election (a) in the case of a general election to the House of the People … from more than two Parliamentary constituencies…”