Chandigarh: The Indian Election Commission has announced by-elections for the 18th Lok Sabha, including the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state of Haryana, as well as a by-election on May 25, 2024, for the Karnal Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) seat.
Last Thursday, on March 14, a Gazette notification was issued by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Secretariat, declaring the Karnal Vidhan Sabha seat vacant following the acceptance of the resignation letter submitted by former Chief Minister and MLA from Karnal constituency, Manohar Lal Khattar, to the Speaker on March 13. Additionally, the Election Commission was informed regarding this matter. On the same evening of March 13, Manohar Lal was declared as the BJP candidate for the Karnal Lok Sabha seat.
Furthermore, Hemant Kumar, an advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and an expert in electoral laws, explained that typically, if a current MLA wishes to contest for a Lok Sabha seat, it is not necessary for them to resign from the legislative assembly beforehand. They can resign from the MLA position after winning the MP election. Hence, the decision of Manohar Lal, the former Chief Minister, who has been nominated as the BJP candidate for the Karnal Lok Sabha seat, to resign from the position of MLA, is solely to create an opportunity for the new Chief Minister of the state, Naib Singh Saini, to become a member of the current Haryana Vidhan Sabha, that is, to become an MLA.
Adding further, Hemant explained that under Section 150 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, when a seat in the state legislative assembly becomes vacant due to reasons such as the death of the sitting MLA, resignation, or disqualification, a by-election is conducted by the Indian Election Commission. According to Section 151 (A), such by-elections should be held within six months of the declaration of the vacancy of the legislative assembly seat. Therefore, a by-election for the vacant Karnal Vidhan Sabha seat could be held by September 12, 2024. However, if the remaining tenure of the current MLA’s term is less than one year, a by-election is not conducted for that vacant seat.
Since the term of the present 14th Haryana Vidhan Sabha, which was convened on November 4, 2019, and as per Article 172 of the Indian Constitution, its term extends until November 3, 2024. Hence, the vacancy of the Karnal Vidhan Sabha seat, which occurred on March 13, 2024, falls short of eight months. Therefore, according to Section 151(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, no by-election can be conducted by the Election Commission for the vacant Karnal Vidhan Sabha seat.
However, Hemant noted that if during the last year of the tenure of the legislative assembly, a non-legislator is appointed as the Chief Minister of the state, as in the case of Naib Saini being made the Chief Minister of Haryana from Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat, then in such a situation, even if the remaining term of the assembly’s tenure is less than a year, a by-election can be conducted by the Election Commission for the vacant legislative assembly seat. This is happening because, as Manohar Lal, the former Chief Minister, has resigned from the Karnal Vidhan Sabha seat, the Election Commission is organizing a by-election on the Karnal Vidhan Sabha seat to give Naib Saini, the non-legislator Chief Minister of the state, an opportunity to become a member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.
Hemant obtained information from the official records of the Indian Election Commission and mentioned that a similar situation had occurred in Haryana in 1986 when the then Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal, was replaced by Lok Sabha MP Bansi Lal as the Chief Minister, and even though the tenure of the incumbent Haryana Vidhan Sabha was less than a year, a by-election was held for the Toshham Vidhan Sabha seat in the Bhiwani district, in which Bansi Lal was elected with a record margin.
Additionally, citing an example from his home district of Ambala, Hemant pointed out that it has been ten months since the Lok Sabha seat of Ambala, reserved for Scheduled Castes, fell vacant on May 18, 2023, due to the death of BJP MP Ratan Lal Kataria. Since the tenure of the present 17th Lok Sabha extends until June 16, 2024, and on the day of Kataria’s demise, the remaining term of the MP as a Lok Sabha member was over one year, a by-election was legally required for the Ambala Lok Sabha seat. However, it was not conducted. When Hemant filed an RTI petition to inquire about this matter, the response stated that the Election Commission had consulted the Central Government and certified that since conducting a by-election for the Ambala Lok Sabha seat would shorten the term of the newly elected MP to less than a year, a by-election was not conducted.
