QUESTION

Hard

Indian Polity

Prelims 2021

Consider the following statements:

In India, there is no law restricting the candidates from contesting in one Lok Sabha election from three constituencies.
In 1991, Lok Sabha Election, Shri Devi Lal contested from three Lok Sabha constituencies
As per the existing rules, if a candidate contests in one Lok Sabha election from many constituencies, his/her party should bear the cost of bye-elections to the constituencies vacated by him/her in the event of him/her winning in all the constituencies.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Select an option to attempt

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: As per the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a candidate can contest from up to two constituencies in a Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha election.

Statement 2 is possibly correct: The law allowing a candidate to contest from two constituencies was introduced in 1996. Before that, a candidate could contest from any number of constituencies. Therefore, in 1991, Shri Devi Lal could have contested from three constituencies. This statement is ambiguous.

Statement 3 is incorrect: As per the existing rules, if a candidate contests from more than one constituency and wins in more than one, he/she has to vacate the seats in all but one constituency. The cost of the bye-elections to fill the vacated seats is borne by the public exchequer and not the party of the candidate.

NOTE: UPSC has deleted this question, probably based on the error in statement 2.

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