Why Punjab's Outgoing MLAs Have Not Been Able to Vote for RS MPs Even Once
New Delhi: A Punjab and Haryana high court lawyer has written to the Election Commission pointing out that sitting legislators of the Punjab assembly may not be able to cast their votes in elections for five Rajya Sabha seats whose term is about to end soon.
The outgoing assembly that was formed in 2017 was not able to elect any member to the Rajya Sabha as polls have got delayed.
The lawyer, Hemant Kumar, has written to the Chief Election Commissioner and the two ECs that this situation has arisen as there was a delay in declaration of the poll schedule by the Election Commission for the five seats.
These seats would be falling vacant as the terms of Rajya Sabha MPs from the state – Partap Singh Bajwa, S.S. Dhindsa, S.S. Dullo, Naresh Gujral and Shwait Malik – would be over on April 9, 2022.
'In 2016, the RS poll schedule was announced on February 24’
Kumar, who also marked his letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab and the Secretary of the Punjab Assembly, said this situation has arisen because the term of the current 15th Legislative Assembly of Punjab is till March 23, 2022.
Polling officials wait for the allotment of their respective duty stations ahead of Punjab Assembly elections at Polo Ground, in Patiala, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. Photo: PTI
He said this time the Election Commission has still not announced the poll schedule whereas in 2016, the election schedule in respect of these five seats, was issued by it on February 24. The entire poll exercise was completed by March 23, 2016.
Of the five MPs whose terms are coming to an end, Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo are of the Congress, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa is of Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt), Naresh Gujral is of Shiromani Akali Dal and Shwait Malik is of Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bajwa is a former state president of the Congress and had won the Lok Sabha election from Gurdaspur in 2009. He had also served as a minister in the state governments led by Beant Singh, Rajinder Kaur and Amarinder Singh.
Dullo is also a former state Congress president and a prominent Dalit leader. He was also elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from Ropar.
Dhindsa was a Union Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 2000 to 2004. He was earlier a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) but then fell out with the Badal family and in 2020 proclaimed himself the president of SAD. He later became the president of SAD (Sanyukt) which was formed following the merger of SAD (Democratic) and SAD Taksali, that was led by him.
Naresh Gujral is son of former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral and one of the most prominent voices of SAD. Shwait Malik is a former Mayor of Amritsar who was also appointed the state president by the BJP in 2018.
President’s Rule and a peculiar situation
The outgoing assembly, which was formed in 2017, did not get an opportunity to elect any member to the Rajya Sabha. As such the Aam Aadmi Party, which debuted in the 2017 assembly elections, has still not been able to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. The party had won 20 seats in the polls to the 117-member house. It had also won four Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014 and one in 2019.
Parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Photo: LSTV/PTI
Another unique aspect to the Rajya Sabha elections in Punjab is that while in other states, one-third of the Rajya Sabha MPs retire every two years, in Punjab – as these elections could not be held from 1985 to 1992 when President’s Rule was in place – the MPs were elected together in 1992 and since then they are elected in one go every six years.
Kumar said the current Assembly could have voted in the Rajya Sabha elections if the election notification had come on time.
He said in 2016, the poll schedule in for the five Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab was issued by EC on February 24. The date of notification was March 4, the last date of making nominations was March 11, scrutiny of nominations was on March 12 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature was March 14 and the date before which election should have been completed was March 23.
Kumar said the assembly elections in Punjab were held on February 20 and the EC is expected to issue the statutory notification for all the 117 MLAs after the counting on March 10.
'RS poll schedule can still ensure vote’
He said the issuance of notification by EC on or after March 11, 2022 in respect of the newly elected MLAs members would not affect the normal duration of the current 15th assembly – which is till March 23, 2022 – as per Section 73(b) of Representation of People Act, 1951.
Therefore, the advocate activist said the EC should announce the poll schedule for conduct of biennial Rajya Sabha elections to these five seats immediately without any further delay so that the incumbent legislators of the 15th Assembly get an opportunity to exercise their right to franchise. He said this would ensure that these MLAs would not be denied or deprived of this right for no fault of theirs.
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