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DocumentationMonthly
Vol.111 No. 4
April 1979
Research & ReferenceElection Commission of india
C O N T E N T S
P A G E S
Chapter - I 3 - 18
Books and Articles
Chapter - I I 19 - 32
Notes on Judicial Decisions inElection Petitions.
Chapter - I I I v 32 r- 36
Notes on Di squall ft cation ofMembers by the Commission.
Chapter - IV 37 - M
Party Ibsition in LegislativeAssemblies.
Chapter -. V h-2 - k?
Disposal of Election Petitions(1) Iok Sabha
( i i ) Eagislatlve Assemblies
(ft) frpt.fi r — VI f6 - 56
(i) Eye-elections(11) Vacancy Table
Chapter - VII 57 - 69
Commission's views onElectoral Iteforms - Series I I
Chapter - VIII 70 - 72
Notes on Presidents Rule inthe Union Territory of Goa,Daman & Dlu.
Chapter - IX 73 -
Parliament Questions on ELectionsand Electoral Iteforras and theirAnswers. Part I I .
Chapter - X 95 -
Pbreign ELections.
Chapter - XL 105 - 110
Iteport on General ELections,Mlzoram Legislative Assembly(April 1979.)
: • 7 • — - • ' • • ' - / •
The documentation is intended to
acquaint the Officers and Staff of the
Commission and the Chief ELectoral Officers
and their staff with articles on current
political issues published in periodicals/
newspaperSj received in the Commission's
Library, developments in the field of
ELectoral Law and Procedure, progress of
the disposal of election petitions and
judicial decisions thereon, Commission's
decisions on questions as to disqualification
cation of members to either House of Parlia~
raent or of the State Legislatures, 13arty
position in the Legislative Assemblies of
the States and the Union Territories and
bye-elections to both Houses of Parliament
and State Legislatures. This issue also
includes a brief report, based on press
reports, on the General Elections recently
held for the House of Bepre sentatives of
Thailand, second instalment of Commission's
views on various aspects of electoral
reforms that appeared in the press from
time to time, a note on President's Rule
in Goa, note on General ELection to
Mizoram Legislative Assembly and Parlia-
ment Questions on ELections and ELectoral
Reforms and their answers on the floor of
both the Houses of Parliament during the
Budget Sfession.
C H A P T E R -
B O O K S A O A R I I C L E S
Akbar, M.J, Bangladesh - The re turn ofdemocracy.
Sunday s April 22, 1979,pp. 12 r 17.
Ali , Tariq
- . » % •
A chance for the MarkAntonys.
New Statesman : April 13,1979,p . 516.
Bhutto's death has sealedthe fate of Zia and hisgenerals.
Antony, A.K.
Bro«k, George
Congress i What Now ?
IWI J April 8, 1979,pp. 8 - 10.
front fights for 280 seats.
The Observer s April 1,1979,p. 2.
Brock, George Thumping Jim gets into hiss t r ide .
The Observer s April 15,1979,P. 3 .
Chakravartty, Nikhil Pakistan J On the Q?ink.
Mainstream : April 7,1979,pp. 1 - 2 .
Chakravartty, Nikhil When the Politician Fai ls .
Mainstream s April 28,1979,pp. 1 - 3 .
Ghari, P.R. Pak Nuclear Intentions andIndia.
Mainstream : April 28,1979,pp. 5-6 & 31.
Chitta Ranjan, C.N. Behind Janata Tensions.
Mainstream : April 1^,1979,pp. 1 - 3 .
Cole, John andRaphael, Adam.
How Jim won the Battle ofthe Manifesto.
The Observer i A-oril 8, 1979p. 11.
De* Sarkar, Khagen Dggaifs DQeca Visit iPlus axid Minus.
Mainstream i April 28, 1979,pp. 7 and 3k.
Gupta, Anirudha Arain's Fall i New Riase inPan-Africanism ?
Mainstream : April 1^,1979,pp. 9 - 10 & 29.
Joseph, Michael D. Flashpoint Exclusive fromPakistan.
Sunday : A p r . i , 1979,pp. 10 - 12.
Karadla, Chhotu andSethi , Sunll
Zia ' s l a s t Game.
Ihdia Today « April 16-30,79,pp. 16 - 1^.
Legurn, Colin
Link
Idl Tallin's deadly legacy.
The Observer : April 1^,1979,p. 9.
Bad Times for Janata Bosses.
Link 1 April 22,1979,pp. 9 - 10.
Link Beginning of the aid ?
Link J April 8, 1979,pp. 10 - 11.
Link Time-bomb With a Short Fuse.
Link i April 8, 1979,PP. 37 - 39.
He. Efeypt - I s r ae l t r e a t y .
Louis, Arul B. Shah Commission Beport -Lost In Intertia.
India Today : April 16-30,1979,pp. 8k - 85.
M.H.J. Janata Tarty : Separate,but Unequal.
Eco. & BDI. Weekly, April 1^,79,p . 688.
Mac Man us, James
Malhotra, Inder
Mather, Ian
Bending the ru les to getr id of Uganda's d i c t a t o r .
The Guardian : April 15,1979,p . 7.
What Next In Pakistan ?
IWI i April 15, 1979,pp. 18 - 19.
The Soldier who hanged Phut to
The Observer : April 8, 1979,p . 8.
New Statesman CLass, geography and theele c t ion .
New Statesman i / ipril 6, 1979,pp. k70 - 7 1 .
New Statesman Toryism and the tax myth.
New Statesman : April 13,1979,p . 50k.
Newsweek Idi Amin's F a l l .
Newsweek : April 23, 1979,pp. 10* 13.
Nie sewand, iteter Has Ehutto been silenced ?
Sutiday 1 April 15, 1979,pp. 16 - 19.
7
Observer _ .. Thatcher's radical a l t e r .
The Observer : April 1,1979,P« 10.
P.R.R. The World Around Us -No Sign of Peace.
Link : April 15, 1979,pp. 8 - 9.
Pai, T.A. Branding the ruling Party-bul l .
Onlooker i April 1-15,1979,p. 2*t.
Pai, T.A# Hew role of Gongress.
IWI t April 8, 1979,P. 13.
Pant, K.C. A Responsibility ToHistory.
IWI : April 8, 1979,p. 11.
Why did the two Congressparties feel the need torevive unity ta lks .
Patra, Saral A Treaty for War notPeace •
Mainstream : April 7,1979,PP. 7 - 9 .
8
Porbandar, N. Democracy a d r i f t .
Seminar '- April 1979?pp. 17 - 21.
Rafferty, Kevin Pakistan l i v e s in fear ofa t inder box.
Tne Observer * April 8, 1979,p . 8.
Rau, M. Chalapathi f a r t i e s , Leaders.
Link : April 22, 1979,P. 7.
Sareen, Rajendra Macbeth of Pakistan.
Sunday : April 1, 1979,PP. 13 - 17.
Sen, Chandra CPI - M and Left UnityProspects.
Mainstream : April 21, 1979,p . 6.
Silver a, D.M. Bbreign Money Ib OustMorarji ?
Onlooker : April 16-30,1979,pp. 10 - 1*t.
Si lvera , D.M. BSL11 the rea l Janata pleasestand up ?
Onlooker : April 1-15,1979,pp. 22 - 23.
Stephens, Robert Boycott at Baghdad.
Tne Observer s April 8,1979,p. 10.
Tonge, David
Dalies (Now Delhi)
Will the military take
New Statesman : April 6,1979,PP. ^
Inflation, unemployment,mounting debts and pol i t ica lviolence in Turkey.
Abraham, A.S. Downfall of A Tyrant - HowIdi Amin Camo to Grief.
Ihe Times of Ihdia sNew Delhi, April 16,1979,p. 6.
Abraham, A.S. Peace Prospects In VfestAsia s
Convergence of Egyptian -Saudi I n t e r e s t s .
Tne Times of India sNew Delhi, April 9,1979
Ali , Salamat Tne Big Challenge KabulFaces - A Pakistan 'View.
Tne Times of India,New Delhi, April 11,1979,p . 8.
^ywater, Marion B.
Chopra, Pran
10 :
Fall of Labour Govt :re l ief in Brussels.
Indian Express :New Delhi, April 11,1979,p. 6.
Rise and fa l l of Ehutto.
Indian Express INew Delhi, April 6,1979,p. 7.
Chopra, Pran The Loneliness of GeneralZLa,
The Hindustan Times,New Delhi, April 25,1979,p. 9.
Chopra, V.D. Danger Signals Jrora JanataBuled States.
Patriot : New Delhi,April 23, 1979, p. 2.
Deshraukh, Nanaji. A motivated carapaign.
Indian Expre ss :New Delhi, April 3, 1979,p. 6.
Gandhi, Rajniohan The untouchables of Janata.
Indian Express iNew Delhi, April 3, 1979,p. 6.
11
Gangal, S#C«
Indian Express
India's Iblicy towardsneighbours.
Indian Express *New Delhi, April 23, 1979,p. 6.
I&?itish Election - Issuesand Ibstures.
Indian Express iApril 25, 1979, p. 6.
Indian Express Prance J C victory withoutsuccess.
Indian Express tNew Delhi, April 1*+, 1979,p. 6,
Indian Express Manoeuvrings in Peking.
Indian Express :New Delhi, April 12, 1979,p. 6.
Jain, Girilal CIA's Intervention in IndiaMr. Moynihan ConfusesThe Issue.
The Times of India iNew Delhi, April 18,1979, 'p. 6.
Jain, Girilal Bid Of Hoad For Pakistan ?
The Times of India :Ifew Delhi, April 11,1979,p. 8. .
12
Jain, Girilal The Janata and The RSS :Two Faces of The Problem.
Jain, Girilal Ihe System Under Stress JI - Struggle Against RSS -Jana Sangh.
Hhe Times of India JNew Delhi, April ^,1979,p. 8.
Jain Girilal The System Under Stress :I I - Social Reality OvertakesIb l i ty .
The Times of India sNew Delhi, April 5, 1979,•p. 6 .
Jain, Girilal Ihe System Under Stress sI I I - Janata No SubstituteJbr Congress.
The Times of India *New Delhi, April 6, 1979,p. 6.
Macntanus, James Balance of power in EastAf*±ca.
Indian Express tNew Delhi, April 18,1979,p. 6.
13
Malhotra, Ihder Kashmir's Multiple Problems -Need for Careful Handling*
The Times of India * New Delhi,April 12, 1979.
Malhotra, Trie Congress CD Conclave •Pa r ty ' s Hopes and Fears.
The Times of India tNew Delhi, April 26, 1979,p . 6.
Nair, V.M. The Issues In UK's GeneralELection.
The Statesman iNew Delhi, April 12, 1979,p« 6.
Nayar, Kuldip A Party tha t never was.
3hdian Express :New Delhi, April h, 1979,p. 6.
Nayar, Kuldip Funding the elections.
Indian Express JNew Delhi, April 18,1979,p. 6.
Patriot Ehutto i From Court Room to
Gallows.
Patriot : New Delhi,April 5, 1979, P. 2.
Patriot Bhutto s Srom Court Boomto Gallows.
Patriot i Hew Delhi,April 6, 1979, p. 2.
Pattikt Costly And Endless Drift ofthe Two Congresses.
Patriot : New Delhi,April 16, 1979,p. 2.
Patriot Janata Party '» Chances ofCompremise waning.
Patriot i New Delhi,April 9, 1979, P. 2.
Patriot New Constructive Forces 3nWake of Political Crises.
Patriot : April 2, 1979, P.2,
Patriot Zia's Dilemma Over Bhutto'sExecution.
Patriot : New Delhi,April 3, 1979, p. 2.
Boy Choudhury, Profulla Uneasy ib l i t i ca l Stability InBangladesh.
Patriot : New Delhi,April 28, 1979,p. 2.
Sen, A.N. UK i b l l Campaign "Under Way iMod Of Confrontation.
The Times of India,New Delhi, April 13,1979,p . 8.
Sundar Bajan, K,R. Abdullah's Janrnm Problem.
The Hindustan Times :New Delhi, April 13,1979,p . 9.
Sundar Rajan, K.R. The RSS Connection.The Hindustan Times tNew Delhi, April 20, 1979,P. 7-
DAILIES (PUBLISHED FROM PLACES OTHER THAN DELHI)
The Hindu Problems of the SovietSuccession.
The Hindu, Madras,April 6, 1979, P 8.
The Hindu The r i s e and f a l l ofCallaghan.The Hindu, Madras,April , 7, 1979, p . 8.
The Hindu Janata Pa r ty ' s NewPackage,
The Hindu, Madras,April 9, 1979, p . 8.
J 16
The Hindu Influx of outsidersinto the North EasternStates.
The Hindu, Madras,April 16, 1979, p .8 .
Batuk Gatheni Elections are a costlybusiness.
the Hindu, Madras,April 1?, 1979, p .8 .
Batuk Gatheni Wind of Change inSaudi Arabia.
The Hindu, Madras,April 16, 1979, p .8 .
C.S. Pandit India 's Nuclear Policy 1VJhy did Vajpayee talk ofa new look.
Amrit Bazar Patrika,Calcutta, April 5,1979,p . 6.
Robert Cfiosshyr* Peanut Puzzle may touchCarter.
Amrit Bazar Patrika,Calcutta, April 3, 1979,p . 6.
A.K. Mukherjee Risk of bulging foreignreserves.
Amrit Bazar Patrika,Calcutta, April 9, 1979,p. 6.
i 17 i
B.S. Gupta India and U.S.A. :r i f t reappears.
Ararit Bazar Patrika,Calcutta, April 9,1979,p* 6.
C.S. Pandit Sbcus behind a thirdJbrce,
Atnrit Bazar Patrika,Calcutta, April 26, 1979,p. 6.
Arunchandra Guha Erosion of democraticcode in India,
Ararit Bazar Patrika,Calcutta, April 23,1979,p. 6.
Mark IJrankland $ould Russian Muslimsstart : a holy war ?
Amrit Bazar Patrika,Calcutta, April 18,1979?p. 6.
Amrit Bazar I&trika Pakistan after Bhutto,
Ararit Pazar Patrika,Calcutta, April 13,1979,p. 6.
The Tribune American Scandel - Bomb,
The Tribune, Chandigarh,April 12, 1979,P. 9 .
18
The Tribune Moynihan story
The Tribune, Chandigarh,April 16, 1979, p . if.
Sitanshu Das Election Scene,
The Tribune, ChandigarhApril 30, 1979, p . h
Sitanshu Das "Polarisation"A pipe-dream,
The Tribune, Chandigarh,April 2, 1979, P. **.
The Tribune Uh-easy time forCongress
The Tribune, Chandigarh,April 16, 1979, p. *+.
i 19 i
C H A P T E R ~ I I
NOTES ON JUDICIAL DECISIONSIN ELECTION PETITIONS.
During the month under review,
judgements for seven elect ion p e t i t i o n s
delivered by the various High Courts
were received in the Commission, Of
these, two re la ted to Bihar Legis la t ive
Assembly and one each to .Andhra Pradesh
Assaffl,Haryana,Madhya Pradesh and Rajas--
than Legislat ive Assembly. All these
p e t i t i o n s were dismissed by the respec-
t ive High Courts.
20
ELECTION PETITION NO. 12 OF 1978PRADESH _
Lukalapu Lakshmanadas
Vs.
Kalamata Mohan Rao & others.
Lokalapu Lakshmanadas, a defeated
candidate, challenged the election of
Kalamata Mohan Rao to the Andhra Pradesh
Legislative Assembly from 6-Patapatnam
Assembly Constituency, on grounds of
commission of corrupt practices enumer-
ated in section 123 (i) , (2), (5) and (6)
of the Representation of the People Act,
1951 and irregularities in the counting
of votes. He also alleged that the fifth
respondent, Lingala Janardhana Rao, who
was also a contesting candidate, was
having a subsisting contract with the
Sub-Jail, Patapatnam, and was, therefore,
not qualified to contest the election.
He prayed that the election of the f i rs t
respondent be declared void and that he
be declared elected in his place.
21
The High Court was not satisfied
with the grounds on which the recounting
of votes was prayed for and accordingly
rejected the plea for the recount. I t
also decided all the issues relating to
commission of corrupt practices against
the petitioner.
The Court, however, held that accep-
tance of the nomination paper of the fifth
respondent was improper as he was having
a subsisting contract with the State Govern-
ment, for the supply of food articles to
the Su>-Jail, Rit&patnajB on the day of
filing nomination papers and was, therefore
not qualified to contest the election. The
Court further added that fifth respondent
had secured only 565 votes where as the
first respondent was declared elected by
a marging of 82*+ votes. Therefore, the
improper acceptance of the nomination paper
of the fifth respondent was held to have
not materially affected the result of the
election.
The High Court, therefore, dis-
missed the petition.
22
ELECTION PETITION NO. 10 OF 1078ASSAM
Janakinath Eandique
Vs.
Satya Tanti & o t h e r s .
Janakinath Handique, a defeated candi-
date j filed a petition challenging the ele-
ction of Satya Tanti, to Assam Legislative
Assembly from 106- Sanary Assembly Consti-
tuency on the ground that the nomination
paper of Respondent No. 2 ^rabhash Acharyya,
was improperly accepted which led to his
defeat as £rabhas, who is a Bengali, filed
his nomination paper in the name of Rromode
by which name there is a different person.
He had further contended that had Erabhash
not been in the field, almost a l l the votes
polled by him would have been cast in his
favour as a result of which he would have
got more votes than the return candidate.
23
In view of the above the petitioner
prayed the Court to declare the ele-
ction of Satya Tanti as void and to
order repoll.
After hearing "both the parties
and sifting of the evidence, the High >
Court came to the conclusion that
Prabh'ash and Promode are two different
persons and not one and that Prabhash
is not Promode. The Court further
observed that Prabhash was not an ele-
ctor as per the 1977 rolls which formed
the basis for 1978 Assembly elections
and therefore he was not qualified
to stand as a candidate. In view of
this the Court held the acceptance of
the nomination paper is improper.
The Court also held that the
claims of the petitioner that Bsngalis
as a community were his supporters
was based on imaginary ground. It was
further held that even if the Bengalis
had a lifting for the petitioner, i t
could not be claimed that all would
have voted for him. The Court there-
fore dismissed the petition.
5CTI0N PETITION NO. If OF 1977BIHAR
I I I - Kailash Oraon
Vs.
Karam Chand Ehagat
Kailash Oraon, a defeated candidate
challenged the election of Karam Chand
Ehagat from 309-Mandar Assembly Consti-
tuency to Bihar legislative Assembly,
The main grounds on which the election
of the returned candidate, Karam Chand
Biagat, has been challenged are as unders-
1. that a large number of voters"were procured by false person-ation" by the Ifespondent, hisworkers and agents;
2. that thare was booth capturing,"snatching of papers and assault-ting of workers of the petitionerby Respondent, his workers andagents which amounted to corruptpractice under section 123 (2)of the Hspresentation of theJeople Act, 1951;
26
3» that corrupt Practices undersections 123 *(t)U), 123 (?)and (6) were committed by therespondent;
if. that the respondent had spentmoney on his election more thanthe limit prescribed under thelaw in this regard; and
?. that there was irregularity incounting of votes.
The petitioner, Kailash Oraon,
secured 18,12? votes whereas the respon-
dent, Karam Oiand Biagat secured 18,1?7
votes and the respondent was declared
elected by a margin of 31 votes. The
petitioner, therefore, prayed that the
election of the respondent be declared
void and he be declared duly elected in
his place.
After hearing both the parties
and going through the evidence the Court
held that :-
"On a consideration of al l thesefacts and circumstances and thebroad probabilities of the case,
27
i t is found that the petitionerhas failed to establish any ofthe corrupt practices alleged inthe election" petition and the evi-dence by May of denial adducedby ifespondent No. 1 is satisfactoryand reliable. It i s . therefore,found that the election of respon-dent No. 1 i s not vitiated onaccount of any corrupt practicenot the result of his electionstands affected much less ntateri**ally on account of any such corruptpractice."
Accordingly the High Court dismissed
the election petition. The Recriminatory
petition filed by the Respondent was also
dismissed by the Court.
28
ELECTION PETITION NO. 10 OF 1977BIHAR
IV - Si ta Bam Chaudhary &another
Vs.
Abdul Bari Siddiqul
Sita Ram Chaudhary and one o ther ,
both ' vo te rs , f i led a pe t i t ion chal leng-
ing the e lect ion of Abdul Eari Siddiqui
from 85- Bahera Assembly Constituency to
Bihar Legislat ive Assembly, The e lec t ion
was challenged on the ground tha t Abdul
Bari Siddiqui had f i l ed h i s nomination
paper representing himself to have a t ta ined
the age of 25 years when he was ac tua l ly
l e s s than 25 years of age on the date of
the f i l i ng h is nomination paper, on the
18 May, 1977. The p e t i t i o n e r s further
al leged tha t the Returning Officer had
i l l e g a l l y and improperly accepted the
nomination paper. His prayed tha t the
e lec t ion of the respondent be declared
void.
i 29 :
The Court after considering the
evidences, both oral and documentary,
adduced on behalf of the parties con-
cluded that the petitioners have failed
to prove that the respondent was below
the age of 25 years. The High Court
dismissed the petition.
30
ELECTION PETITION NO. 13 OF 1977HARYANA
Bsgara Shamshad
Vs.
Shakrulla
Begam Shamshad, a defeated candidate ,
filed a petition challenging the election
of Shakrulla to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha
from ^7- Riirozpur Jhirka Assembly Consti-
tuency held in June, 1977 on the grounds
Ci) that the respondent had committed
corrupt practices and (i i) that the res-
pondent had not completed 25 years of age
at the time of filing his nomination papers.
The Bigh Court dismissed the petition,
as the petitioner could not substaniate
either of the two allegations, made in the
petition.
31
ELECTION PETITION NO. 6 OF 1977HADHYA PRADESH
H a r i h a r Niwas
Vs.
Shyam Sunder
Har ihar Niwas, a d e f e a t e d c a n d i d a t e »
filed a petition challenging the election
of Shyam Sunder to the Madhya Pradesh
Legislative Assembly from 23- Datia Assem-
bly Constituency held in June, 1977.
The petitioner filed an application
for the withdrawal &f petition which was
granted by the Court. The petition was,
therefore, dismissed as withdrawn.
i 32
ELECTION PETITION NO. 5 OF 1977RAJASTHAN
Lt, Col. Jabdi Khan
Vs.
Mathura Das lvlathur
Lt. Col.. Jabdi Khan filed a petition
challenging the election of Mathura Das
Mathur from 19*+*-D3edwana Assembly Consti-
tuency to the Bajasthan legislative Assembly.
The petition was dismissed as withdrawn.
i 32 A i
C H A P T E R - I I I
CASES OF DISQUALIFICATION
During the month of April , 1979
the President, on the advice of the
Election Commission of India held tha t
the question whether Shri N.G. Ranga
has become subject to the d i s q u a l i f i -
cation mentioned in a r t i c l e 102 ( i ) ( e )
read with Section 10A of the Represen-
t a t i on of the People Act, 1951> no
longer remained for determination because
Shri Ranga was the s i t t i n g member of the
fourth Lok Sabha which was dissolved in
December 1970. Since then two general
e l ec t ions have been held to cons t i tu te
a new House of the People one in 1971
and another in 1977.
The Commission's opinion to the
President in t h i s regard i s reproduced
in the following pages '—
t 33 *
BEEOKE THE CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER 0? INDIA
In re i~ Beference from the President under.Article 103 (2) of the-Const i tut ionof India - Disqual i f icat ion ofShri N.G. Ranga under a r t i c l e 102( i ) ( e ) read with section 10 A ofthe Representation of the BgopleAct, 1951.
0 P INN I 0 K
This i s a reference by the President
of India under a r t i c l e 103 of the Constitution
of India (as i t stood in 1969) for an opinion
of the Election Commission on the question
vhether Shri N.G. Ranga, a member elected to
the House of the Ifeople a t a bye-elect ion from
Srikakulam Constituency held in 1967 has become
subject to the d i squa l i f i ca t ion mentioned in
a r t i c l e 102 (1) (e) of the Constitution #ead
with Section 10 A of the Representation of
the People Act, 1951.
2. This question was ra i sed in April
1968 before the President by one Shri Nara-
simham, a voter in the State of .Andhra Pradesh,
3. On receipt of this reference and
the examination of the petition of Shri
Narasimham, the Commission issued the usual
notices to both the parties to file their
written representations. Shri N,G. Banga
challenged this notice by a writ petition
filed in the High Court of indhra Pradesh
on the ground that the Election Commission,
having already accepted his account of ele-
ction expenses, has no jurisdiction to
enquire into the matter of disqualification
under Section 10 A of the Bepresentation
of the Ifeople Act, thereby re-opening a
matter in which a decision has already been
taken by the Commission.
h* The High Court accepted the writ
petition, quashed the notice issued to Shri
N.G. Banga by the Commission and issued a
writ of prohibition on 3.1.1969 against
the Election Commission, The ELection Commi-
ssion was thus prevented by an order of the
High Court from proceeding with the reference
case from the ire si dent.
5. As the matter involved important
Constitutional issue in regard to the powers
of the Election Commission under article 103
and 192 of the Constitution of India, an
appeal was filed by the Commission before
the Supreme Court in March, 1969. After
a lapse of 9% years, the Supreme Court, by
i t s judgment and order dated 17.8.1978, has
allowed the appeal of the Election Commission
and has quashed the order dated 3.1 • 1969 ofTh6 Supreme Gourt
the -Andhra Pradesh High Court*/ has held that
when a question has been raised before the
President or the Governor about the disquali-
fication of a sitting member of Parliament
or State legislature, he is bound by the
Constitution to refer the question to the
Commission for i t s opinion and act in acco-
rdance with that opinion under the provisions
as i t stood in 1969 and that the High Court
has no jurisdiction to interfere with the
proceedings of the Commission in pursuance
of the reference under article 1@3of the
Constitution. The Supreme Court has further
36
held that i t is for the Election Commission
to say whether the question raised 'before
the President is 'frivolous1 or 'fantastic '
and the Courts have go jurisdiction to
interfere in such matters or decide such
questions.
6. Shri N»G» Ranga was the sitting
member of the fourth Lok Sabha, which was
dissolved in December 1970. Since then
tfae general elections have been held to
constitute a new House of the Bsople, one
in 1971 and another in 1977, In view of
this, the reference from the President
became otiose and infructttous.
7. Having regard to the above circum-
stances, the Commission hereby tenders the
opinion under article 103 of the Consti-
tution that the question raised in the
reference made by the President in 1968 as
to whether Shri N.G.Ranga has become subjectto the disqualification mentioned in article102 d X e ) read with Section 10A of the Repre-sentation of the People Act,1951 no longerremains for determination by the President.
Sd/-
( S.L.SHAKDHER )New Delhi, CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER OF
December,1978. INDIA.
37
C H A P T E R - IV
PARTY POSITION IN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIESSTATES/UNION TERRITORIES
The party position in the Legislative
Assemblies of States/thion Terri tories as
on 1A.1979 differed from that on 1.3.1979
in the following respects s-
In Gujarat Legislative Assembly, one
Congress l eg i s l a t e r defected to Congress (I)
as a r e su l t of which the strength of Congress
(I) went up from 56 to 57 and that of Cong-
ress declined from 8 to 7,
In Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the
strength of the Congress (I) was reduced by
one, from 155 to 15" as a resul t of res ig-
nation of one of i t s legis la ters*
In Orissa Legislative Assembly one
Congress leg is la te r defected to Congress (I)
rais ing strength of the l a t t e r from 20 to
21 and correspondingly reducing the
strength of the former.
TARTY POSITION IN THE STATE/UNION TEBRITORIES ASSEMBLIES
S t a t e / IhionTerritory
1.
Jtodhra Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jgianm & Kashmir *
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra @
Manipur
Meghalaya
Nagaland
f Totalstrength
2 .
29^
126
Q2lf
182
90
68
76
22if
iko
320
288
60
60
60
Janata
3-
50
60
21*f
107
78
5^
11
'57'
9
230
99
hh
1
-
Congress(I)
h.
216
9
hk
57
8
7
19
^8
52
11
-
1.^.1979
Congress
7
23
13
7
1
9
1
1
20
21
29
-
—
CPI
6
21
-
-
3
22
-
1
If
-
•CiM
7,
8
11
-
-
-
-
-
17
-
9
-
Others
8.
3
8
16
if
-
-
2
90
55
Indepen-dent
9.
2
9
10
6
2.
5
3
5-
10
8
1
2
5
Vacan t
1«
2
2
1
1
-
2
5
1
-
1. k. 6 . 7. 8.
firissa
Punjab
Raj as than
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
West Bsngal
Arunachal Pradesh @
Delhi ***
Goa,Dajnan & Diu
Mizoram
Pondi cherry
Ik?
117
200
32
23^
60
h?5
30
56
30
30
30
116
25
26
8
-
353
29
21
hk
3
21
15
25
-
-
-
^3
11
-
10
-
Assembly
Assembly
52
1 6
-
27
—
7
10
-
1
10
dissolved
fli s solved
1
7
1
5-9
2
-
-
—
on
on
1
8
1
12
51
1
178
-
-
-
12 November
11 November
-
58
181
7-,
60
8
• -
15
1978.
1978.
3
2
51-
2
9
1
-
2
10.
Obtal 3,997 1,788 760 210 88 301 670 101 19
@ Latest Party Position not received, .
* Excluding 2h seats in Pakistan occupied Territory.
*** Delhi Metropolitan Council.
Other Parties include :-
•\, -Andhra Pradesh
2. Assam
3. Bihar
h, Guj arat
5. Jam in u & Kashmir
6. Karnataka
7. Kerala
8. Maharashtra
9. Jfeghalaya
• ^ 0 . Nag aland
11. Punjabj
J2. Raj asthan
Majillis Ittehad - ul- Muslimmen 3.
Plains Tribals Council of Assam *f, Revolutionary CommunistParty of India *f,
Ibrward ELoc 1, Thited Opposition Eron$ 7, All India Jharkand 1.Lok Paksha Vidhayak Dal 7.
Group of k MLAs. of origional Congress but not joined in any ofthe two present Congress Party.
National Conference 50, Jamat I si ami, 1, Janata Pront 3.
Muslim League 1, Bepublican Party of India 1.
Kerala Congress 19? Revolutionary Socialist Party of India 9>Muslim League 11, Muslim League (Opposition: ) 3, P.S.P.2, NationalDemocratic Party (Nair) 2. National Democratic Party (Fi l ia l ) 2.
Peasants and Workers Party 13, Republican Party of India (Kamble ) 3,All India Muslim League 2, Forward HLoc 1 -, Republican Party(Khobragade) 2, Maharashtra Purogami Vidhi Mandal Congress Paksha 36,Purggami Vidhi Mandal Congress Paksha - Independent 5j MaharashtraSamajwadi Congress 2, Lok Sahi Congress Group 9> Nag VidharbhaAndolan Samiti 2, RFI (Gavai ) 2.
All Party Hill Leaders Conference 31? Hill °tate People DemocraticParty 13j Public Demands Implementation Convention 3j MeghalayaUhited Legislature front 10.
Ihited Democratic Sront 39j National Convention of Nagaland 1,NPCC 15.
Sfoiromani ilcali Dal 58.
Progressive Party k.
13. Tamil Nadu
1^. Tripura
15. Vfest Itengal
16. Arunachrl Pradesh
17. Go a, Darian & Diu.
AIDMK 126,. DMK 1*7, Indian National forward ELoc 2, Tamil NaduProgressive Toilers Party 2, Forward HLoc 1, Muslim League 1,Gandhi Kamaraj National Congress 2.
RSP 2, Pbrward ELoc 1, Tripura Upajati Juva Samity k,
Pbrward ELoc 26, RSP 20, Revolutionary Communist Party ofIndia 3> Jbrward ELoc (Marxist) 3, BLplabi Bangla Congress 1,Soc ia l i s t Unity Centre k, Muslim League 1, Congress ForDemocracy 1, CPI (Marxist Leninis t ) 1.
People's Party of Arunachal Pradesh 8.
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak 15.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
0 H Al l l i -J
DISPOSAL OF 5GH0N PETITIONS
T A B L E - I
Total number of e lec t ion p e t i t i o n s f i leddisposed of, s t i l l pending in the HighCourts and appeals sending in the SupremeCourt - Iok Sabha Elections March, 1977.
30.1+.1979
Tame of State/faion Territory
I.Andhra Pradesh
I, Assam
3,BLhar
+.Gujarat
J.Jammu & Kashmir
S.Karnataka
7.Kerala
8.Madhya Pradesh
9. Maharashtra
0. Punjab
ii.Bajasthan
l2.Sikkim
13.Tamil Nadu
Piled
3
3
3
2
1
1
*
2
2
1
1
1
k
Election Petitionsin the High Courts
disposed lendingof
3
3
2 1
2
1
1 ~
!?
2
2 —
1
• 1 _
1 ~
If
AppealsSupreme
Filed Dispoof
1
1
-
-
3 1
1
-
1 1
-
-
in theCourtse d Pend-
ing
1
1
-
-
-
-
2
1
-
-
-
—
1. 2. 3. ^ . 5* 6. 7.
ilf.Uttar Pradesh 1 1
i5«Vfest Bengal 3 3 - - -
i6.Aidaman & Nicobar 1 1Islands
17.Lakshadweep 1 1
Obtal 35 33 2 7 2 5
In a l l , 35 election petitions arose out of the Lok Sabha
Election, March 1977* Of these, 33 have been disposed of by the
various High Courts and only two are pending. In 7 cases, appeals
against the order or decision of the High Courts were filed in the
Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has disposed of only two appeals
and five are pending.
T A B L E, -,,, I I
Number of election pet i t ions f i leddisposed of, s t i l l pending in theHigh Courts and appeals pending inthe Supreme Court*- Elections tothe Legislative Assemblies-1977-78.
ne of State /Lon Territory
Andhra Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Haryana
, Himachal Pradesh
.Jamrau & Kashmir
.Karnataka
.Kerala
.Madhya Pradesh
.Maharashtra
.Msghalaya
>.Nagaland
i.Orissa
f. Punjab
ELled
21
9
31
7
5
19
7^
19
28
13
1
9
6
16
30,.h.1979
Election Petitionsin the High CourtsDisposed J
of
15
7
18
6
k
k
1
<9
23
3
1
36
15
Pending
6
2
13
1
1
15
73
-
510
-
6
-
1
Filed
1
2
3
1-
-
2
-
5
1
-
-
1
6
AppealsSupreme
in theCourt
Disposed Pendingof
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
1
-
-
-
-
2
1
2
3
1
-
-
2
3
1
-
-
1
1.
i5.Ra;jasthan
16.Tamil wadu
i7.Tripura
i8 .Uttar Pradesh
19.West Bengal
UNION TERRITORIES
1. Arunachal Fradesh
2.Delhi
3.Goa,Daman & Diu
if.Mizoram
5. Ibndi cherry
Total
2.
18
8.
-
37
1
-
k
1
-
2
329
3 .
9
8
-
28
-
-
k
1
-
2
177
9
-
9
1
-
-
-
-
-
152
5.
2
k
-
8
-
-
-
1
-
-
6.
_
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6
7.
2
-
8
-
-
1
-
-
35
A total of 329 election petitions were filed in the
various High Courts following the Assembly Elections 1977-78.
Of these, 177 election petitions have so far been disposed of,
and 152 are pending. In all *f1 appeals against the order or
decision of the High Courts were filed in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has disposed of 6 appeals and 35 are pending.
1+6
C H A P T E R - Vt
During the month of April 1 79}-
bye-ele«tion to Haryana Legislative
Assembly from 90-Narnaul Assambly Consti-
tuency was held.
The bye-election was caused by
the death of sitt ing Janata Party legis-
la tor , Shri Ayodhya Prasad, on 20 August,
1978. After the publication of the revised
electoral rol ls in this constituency on
16 March 1979, the Commission fixed the
following poll programme i~
a) issue ofnotification
b) l a s t date for' making nomi-
nations;
c) date of scru-tiny of nomi-nations;
d) las t date forthe withdrawalof candidatures;
e) date of poll,i f necessary; and
19 March 1979(Monday)
26 March 1979(Monday)
27 March 1979(Tuesday)
29 March 1979(Thursday)
22 April 1979(Sun day)
f) date of comple- 26 April, 1979tion of poll (Thursday)
As many as 60 candidates filed
their nominations, out of which 52 can-
didates withdrew their nominations, leaving
a total of 8 candidates in the election
fray. This was in contrast to General
Election to the Legislative Assembly 1977
when as many as 11 candidates were in the
field. Besides the candidates belonging
to Janata Party and the Congress (I), ;6
Independents also contested the bye-
election.
The Commission had appointed 5
observers for the poll, four from among
the senior officers of the State Govern-
ment and one from the Commission.
The poll was peaceful without any
incident.
Out of a total electorate of
83)2^3 only 52,8^1 voters exercised their
franchise. Tcie total number of valid
votes polled ^as 51,555 and "the remaining
1,296 votes were invalid*
3he following tables indicate,
the number of electors on the rolls, valid
and invalid votes polled as also a com-
parative account of the performance of the
candidates in the General Election to
Haryana Legislative Assembly 1977 and the
bye-election 1979 *-
TABLJLsJL.
AssemblyElection Election
1977 1979
Ibtal Electorate 7x*-ix*95 83,253
Obtal votes polled ^7,133 52,851
Valid votes *f6,2i6 $1,555
Invalid votes 917 " 1,296
T A B L E - I I
Assembly ELection 1977
on t e s t i ngan did ate s
.Ayodhya Prashad
.Attar Singh
.Phusa Ram
.Nihal Singh
.Onkar
.Ataiu Prakash
.Dharampal
.Kurda
,Ram Ki shore
.Hari Dass
. Jaswant
Party
JNP
IND
IND
Cong
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
ValidVotesPolled
20,78^
9,37?
6,298
1,633
88^
h?6
3^3
139
80
30
Bye-Election
Gbn t e s t i n gCandidates
1.Phusa Rara
2. Babu Nand
3.Harish Chander
k.Mohan Lai
?.Charanji Lai
6.Jlvan Ram Bawal
7.Nagar Mai
8.Ram Kishore
Party
IND
JNP
s*t f ^r \^/ V aL. J
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
1979ValidVotesPolled
17,603
16,958
1^,377
1,992
5to.268
262
255
Shri Phusa Ram, an Independent
candidate ^ res t ed the seat fram the Janata
f a r t y candidate Shri Ay«dhya Prasad "by a
margin »f 6>5 v*tes,,
t $0 i
(11) VACANCIES
At present, there i s 1 vacancy in the
Council of States, 7 vacancies in the House
of the Bsople, -|8 vacancies in the various
Legislative Assemblies/Metropolitan Council
and 6o vacancies in the Legislative Councils.
The following Table gives a State/
Union Territory-wise break-up of the number,
and date of vacancy, the reason thereof and
the action in i t ia ted for f i l l ing them.
T A B L E
Vacancies in the Council of States, House of the PeopleLegislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils as on 25A.79
State/IhionTerritory
1 .
Vacancy Constituency Vacancy
2 . 3.
. Bifcrar
, Karnataka
2. Madhya Pradesh
Ely members
20-Chikmagalur
10-Sidhi
Cause Date
5.
Be a son for pending/action taken.
6.
COUNCIL, OF
Death 8.2.1979
HOUSE OF THE PEOPLE,
Expulsion 19.12.78
Death
Action to hold the bye-electionhas been initiated.
In view of the two electionpetitions which are pendingbefore the High Court of Kar-nataka, the Election Commi-ssion has decided to deferthe holding of bye-election •for the time being. Revisionof electoral rolls is inprogress. Date of final pub-lication is 8.8.1979.
1^.12.1978 Tne date •f-poll has beenfixed as 27.5.79
1. 2 . 3. 6.
3 . Tamil Nadu 31-Ihanjavur Resignation 16.11.78)30-Nagapattinam Death 6.1.79 )
(SC)
1-Madras North Death 7.^.79
k. Assam 8-Mangaldai Death 28.3.79
. Andhra Pradesh
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY/METROPOLITAN COUNCIL
197-Gadwal Death26-Pendurthi Death
7 ? )20.12.78)
2. Gujarat
3 , Bihar
1 1lf9-Raopura Death
22-Bx>re(SC) Death193-Asthawan Death
1.3.79
19.3.79)29.3.79)
Electoral rol ls have beenfinally published on 10,5-79.The date of poll has beenfixed for 17~.6.79.Programme for revision ofelectoral r o l l s will commencew.e.f. 1.6,79. The finalpublication of ro l l s i s on10.10.79.
Revision of electoral ro l l si s in progress and they areto be finally published on30.6.1979.
On the suggestion of the StateGovernment the Commission hasagreed to hold the bye-elec-tion after the local bodieselection which are expected tobe over by the middle of June,1979.
Eye-election has been deferredin view of pending GeneralElection.
The programme for the revisionof electoral ro l l s will commencew.e.f. 1«$:.3$«79 andtthe ro l l swill be finally published «n8.10.79.
1 . k. 5. 6 .
• Karnataka
. Kerala
• Madhya Pradesh
•. Sikkim
i. Uttar Eradesh
.Delhi
.Manipur
MD-Harihar
57- Thmkur
90-Kottayan
27*+-Indore V
Soreong
255-Rari277-Allahabad Vfesti+1-Gunnur
15-Ashok Nagar
8-Lamlai17-Lamsang35~Khangabok37-Kakching
Death 31.12.78
Resignation 6.3.79
Death
Expulsion
Death
DeathDeathDeath
Death
2*f.1.79
8.9.79
21.2.79
21.8.78)8.11.78)
26.11.78)
8.10.78
Resignation h.k,79)Resignation h.h.79)Resignation h.k.79)Resignation ifA.79 )
ELectoral rolls which are underrevision, will be finally pub-lished on 28.7.79
Programme for revision of elect-oral rolls -will commence from5.6.79.
Bsvision of electoral rolls isin progress. The rolls will befinally published on 25.6.79.
Electoral rolls published on3.3.79. The out come of petitionof Shri Suresh Seth is awaited.
Etye-election has been deferredin view of the pending generalelection.
BDII fixed for 3.6.79.
ELectoral rolls published on15.3.79. Programme fb holdthe bye-election is under con-sideration.
In view of the pending GeneralELection, the bye-electiorshave Heendeferred.
2. 3. If. 6.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS
a) Casual Vacancies
1. Bihar
2« Jammu & Kashmir 1
3 . Uttar Pradesh 1
t>) ^fecancies cue to retirement
1-Saran LocalAuthorit ies
1-Ratna LocalAuthorit ies
Lashmir PanchayatConstituency
Jaunpur LocalAuthor i t ies .
Death
Death
Regn»
Elected toLegislat iveAssembly.
9.
2k.
9.
23
8.78
11.78
7.77
.6.77
Andhra Pradesh 22 ^-Krishna Local Auth.2->Guntur Local Auth,2-Hyderabad Local Authj2-l>fehboobnag ar * L. A*1-Medak Local Auth.I-Khammam Local Auth.1-Nellore Local Auth.1-Prakasam Local Auth.2«East Godavari L.A.2-West Godavari L.A.2~Chittoor Local A.2-Kurnool Local Auth,1~Anantapur Local A.1-Cuddapah Local Auth.
9.8.78 ) The bye-e lec t ions w i l l be held) along with b iennia l e l ec t ions
2k, 11.78) af ter the re cons t i tu t ion ofZiUa Parishads and PanchayatSamitis.
Steps are being taken to holdthe bye-election»
Rsconst i tut ion of l oca l bodiesi s awaited.
Retired 1.7.76 Re cons t i tu t ion of l oca lbodies i s awaited*
1. 2. 3. 6.
2 . Jaramu & Kashmir 1
3. Hhar 11
, Karnataka
Jammu Local Auth. Retired 19.7.69 Re con s t i tut ion of Localbodies i s awaited.
1-Patna Local Auth.1-Bhojpur Local A.1-Saran Local A.1-Charaparan Local A.1-Muzaffar-p«r L-A-1-Darbhanga Local A.1-Monghyr Local A.1-Purr^n Tocal Auth,"t-Santhal Parganas LAA1-Hazaribagh L. A,1-Dhanbad Local A.
1~Mysore~Gum~K»daguLocal Auth.
1-Dharwad Local Auth.1-Mandya Local Auth.1-Hasan Local Auth.1-Efelgaum Local Auth.1-Bijapur Local Auth.1-Dakahina Kaatara
Local Authorit ies
Retired 6.5.78 Re constitution at localbodies is awaited.
Retired • -,1.7.78 EeoonstituHon of Localbodies is awaited.
IL
1. 2. 3. k. 5. 6.
5. Tamil Nadu 1-Madras Local Auth,1-Chinglepur Local Auth.2-Cbimbatore-Nilgiris • ; ' 21.if.76
Local Auth. • Retired.2-Madurai Local Auth,2-Tirunelvel i local Auth.
2~";>rth Arcot Local Auth. ''2-Sbuth Arcot" Ldeal. Auth. '2-Tiruchirapally Pudukk- 'Retired 21 A.78
"ottai Local Auth. '1-Kanyakumari Local Auth. '
Reconstitution of Iocsbodies i s awaited..
Election to Local bodiare likely to be complted by the end of June1979.
CJLA P I E R - VII
COMMISSION'S VIEWS ON ELECTORAL REPOPJiS(JANUARY TO JULY 1978-SERIES I I )
I t has been decided s e r i a l i s e in the
Documentation the Commission's views on
various aspects of e l ec to ra l reforms tha t
appeared in the Press from time to time.
the period Toe f i r s t instalment of the series/ihaste to December 1977
already appeared in the issue of March, 1979
(Vol. I I I -No.3) .
This chapter covers Commission's views
on the subject such as a l l par ty panel to
ensure fair p o l l , suggestions on p a r t i e s ' say
in choice of po l l o f f i ce r s , po l l eve con-
cessions, President's rule before elections,
new voting system and subsidy to political
parties. Extracts, in full, of Press reports
regarding these aspects of electoral adminis-
tration have been reproduced in the following
pages.*
ALL PARTY PANESL TO ENSURE•i- FAIR POLL
The Chief Election Commissioner,
Mr. S-L* Shakdhar} said here today that
the Election Commission had decided to form
form all party-committees in every con-
stituency to ensure peaceful and fair
elections.
Mr. Shakdhar told newsmen that the
committees -would meet daily and would review
the law and and other matters concering
the elections.
The committees would include repre-
sentatives of all political parties and
independent candidates along with police
and senior administrative authorities.
Besides these all party ^committees
the Election Commission would depute i t s
own observers for assembly elections in
the five &fca,te» Jfr. Shakdhar said he had
appointed lf6 observers for Maharashtra
and they would start operating on February
2h t i l l the.counting of votes*
-ft--
The observers would b^ assigned a
particular zone and they would send their
report directly to the election commissioner
-Anybody can lodge a complaint or inform
these observers about any sort of malpractice
during the elections, he added.
Mr. aiakdhar said he had received com-
"plaints that some candidates of the rebel
Congress had not received the party symbol.
But the ELection Commission was not to be
blamed for this as the rebel Congress candi-
dates did not approach the authorities in
time, he added.
Samachar reports: The Chief ELection
Commissioner, Mr. S.L. Shakdhar, and the
Maharashtra Chief Minister, flfcv Tuoantdada
Patil, today deplored the attat . *n the Janata
Party President, Mr. Chandra Shekhar, at
,AkluJ in Sholapur distr ict yesterday and other
acts of violence during the election campaign
in the State.
peak ing separa te ly to newsmen here,
Mr. Shakdhar and Mr. Pa t i l both said i t was
unfortunate tha t the at tack on Mr. Chandra
Shekhar had taken place.
The Chief Minister said the special
Inspector-General of Police, Mr. S-V.Tankhivale
l e f t today for Akluj to make de ta i led inqui-
r i e s into the inc iden t . He i s expected to
submit h i s report to the Government in a day
or two.
Mr. Shakdhar called on the Chief Minister
during the day and held discussions with him
on the Akluj inc ident .
Asked whether he had received the t e l e -
gram sent by the Janata Party President about
the inc ident , the Chief Election Commissioner
said he had not yet seen the telegram but the
Home Secretary of the State Government had a t
once posted him with the detai led information.
INDIAN EXPRESS, NEW DELHI15 FEBRUARY .. 1978.
- .61-
PARTIES' SAY IN CHOICE OF POLLOFFICERS .SUGGESTSD .
The Chief Election Commissioner
has suggested to the Maharashtra govern-
ment the appointment of pol l ing of f icers
a t each booth on the recommendations of
political parties to ensure a fair poli.
Revealing this at a Press confer-
ence here yesterday, Mr. Vasantrao Patil,
Chief Minister, said this suggestion^ was
made by the Chief Election Commissioner
when he met him in Delhi yesterday.
Mr. Patil said the proposal envi-
saged that the presiding officer at each
booth would be a government employee, while
other polling officers would be appointed
on the recommendations of each major poli-
t ical party. This would ensgre fair polling,
Mr. Patil placed this suggestion at
a meeting with leaders of political parties
in the city. A larger meeting of party
leaders from the State would be held on
February 3 to discuss the proposal.
-62-
Mr. Pa t i l asserted that the govern-
ment had adequate staff to conduct polling
throughout the state. Additional staff was
being recruited to ensure that there was no
shortage at "the eleventh hour. 2ven in nor-
mal circumstances, the SLection Commission
requisitioned staff from the Central govern-
ment and municipal bodies.
The proposal to recruit polling
officials on the recommendations of political
parties was made to create confidence among
the people and the political parties, Mr.
Patil said.
Mr.' Eat 11 said that both the Presi-the
dent and/Prime Minister, whom he had met in
Delhi, had expressed the view that the elec-
tions should not be postponed. Bbth of them
toldhim that i t was in the interest of the
country to hold the elections a3 per schedule*.
NO POLL-EVE CONCESSIONS
Mr. Ea t i l said that the ELoction
Commission had made i t clear to bin? that
his government could not make any f inancia l
commitment outside the budget to meet the
demands of the employees af ter the o f f i c i a l
announcement of the e lect ion schedule for
the assembly. The Commission had also to ld
him tha t making any such commitment of the
s t r ik ing employees would endanger fa i rness
of elections.
In this context, Mr. Patil said, the
only course now left to him was to o-^^
tm tha striking employees to resume duty
f«r election purposes in the interest $f
.the country. After .the. el&ctions, they
could ••resume their strike»
Mr. S.V. Biave, Chief Secretary to
the State government, pointed out that the
government by an order issued on January 31
- to -
had declared a l l employment in connection
with the assembly election as a. public
u t i l i t y service. Under the order if any
person was given election duty, he eust
attend i t . Jtefusal to attend would make
him liable to be prosecuted and convicted
by a criminal court. In addition to prose-
cution, action of a disciplinary nature for
his dismissal could also be taken by the
proper authorit ies.
TIMES OF INDIA', NEW DELHI,3 MARCH. 1978.
POLL CHIEF FOR PRESIDENT'S RULE
BEFORE ELECTIONS
The Chief Election Commissioner, ^r .
S.L. Shakdher, has suggested imposition of
President 's rule in the States, just prior
to assembly elections, to avoid even any
remote suspicion of misuse of off ic ia l mac-
hinery in elect ions.
In the case of Lok Sctbha elections,
the Central government should function only
as a caretaker government during a minimum
period immediately preceding the holding of
elect ions.
This i s one of the suggestions con-
tained in his inaugural address to the three-
day national semtnar on electoral reforms in
India which started yesterday at Sambalpur
University in Orissa.
This step, in his view, would cer-
ta in ly insulate the electoral process from
the allegation of misuse of off ic ia l mach-
ine ry for the furtherance of the prospects
of candidates of the par ty in po".?cr.
NEW VOTING SYSTEM
Mr. Shaded her i s also in favour of a
change in the present voting system to p re -
vent imbalance between the percentage of
votes polled by a par ty and the sea ts
•ecured by i t .
In &ls opinion it would be better if
a combination of the list system together
with the present system on 0,^0 basis is
adopted. Under the system, one half of the
seats in the Lok Sabha and in the Legislative
Assemblies will be filled as at present and
the other half from a list furnished by poli-
tical parties in advance to the Election Commi-
ssion according to the proportion of valid .
votes polled by political parties at the
election.
The new device would reduce the im-
balance of parties polling lesser percentage
-67
of votes securing disproportionately
large number of seats.
The other suggestions made by the
Chief Election Commissioner to ensure
that the elections are not only free and
fair, but also appear to be free and
fair are;
The SLection Commission should be
allowed to hold all the elections in the
country, including elections to local
bodies.
The core officials in charge of
elections in the various states and Union
territories should be placed directly
under the administrative control of the
Chief Election Commissioner.
Identity cards with photographs
affixed should be used in elections to
effectively put an end to complaints of
impersonation.
SUBSIDY TO PARTIES
The governnent should provido sub-
sidy to pol i t ica l part ies for fighting
elect ions.
Restrictions should be placed on
independents contesting elections in an
indiscriminate manner. Independents
failing to secure a minimum percentage
of valid votes should be disqualified from
contesting elections : for a specified
period.
To tackle the evil of detections, pro-
visions should be made in the election
law to make a candidate declare in the
"form of nomination" i t se l f , that he
would resign his seat, in case he changes
his 'allegiance from the party on whose
syobol he contested the elect ions.
Voters1 forums should be set up in
a l l states and d i s t r i c t s to keep a con-
stant wktth over election matters and also
-60 -
performance of eleoted represen ta t ives
in l e g i s l a t u r e s and Parliament and loca l
bodies .
Power should bo given to the
ction Q»cnmsission to inves t iga te c?.ses of
compalints r e l a t i ng to non-observance of
elect ion laws and rules by the e lect ion
machinery or p o l i t i c a l pa r t i e s so as to •
res tore confidence in the mind of publ ic .
•TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI7 JULY , 1978.
70
C H A P T E R - VIII
NOTE ON PRESIDENT! S RULE IN THE UNIONTERRITORY OF GOA, DAMAN AND DIU«
On 28 April 1979, the Hi ion Ter r i -
to ry of Goa was placed under P r e s i d e n t ' s Rule
for the second time since i t s inception in
1962. Tne 30-iueciber Assembly was simultane-
ously dissolved to pave the way for fresh
e l e c t i o n s . Ihe f ac tors which led to the im-
pos i t ion of P res iden t ' s Rule in the Union
Ter r i to ry were as follows s-
In the general e l ec t ions to the Goa
l e g i s l a t i v e Assembly June 1977j the Maharashtra-
wadi Gomantak Party led by Srat. Sashikala
Kakodkar captured 15 seats in the House of 30.
She was i n s t a l l e d as Chief Minister on 7 June,
1977 and her Government pulled on amidst
i n t e r n a l wrangles t i l l the second week of
April 1979* The fate of the Government was
f ina l l y sealed when the Minister for Law,
Labour and Parliamentary Affairs , Shankar Laad
m
quit the cabinet and threw his lot with
two other dissident legislators reducing
the ruling party's strength to a bare 12
in the 30-raember Bouse. On 23 April 1979
the Ministry headed by Smt. Kakodkar was
defeated on a cut motion on a budgetary
demand. Following the defeat of her Govern-
ment, Smt. Sashikala Kakodkar resigned on
26 .April, 1979. The Lt. Governor, P.S.Gill,
advised the President to impose President's
Rule in the Union Territory* Iti 28 April,
1979, the President signed the Proclamation
under Section 51 of the Union Territories
Act imposing President's Rule.. The Assembly
was simultaneously dissolved. A fresh elec-
tion to constitute a new legislative Assembly
in the territory would be held after the
completion of revision of electoral rolls
which is in progress at present.
The Union Territory of Goa came
under President's Rule for the f irst time
on 3 December, 1966 following the resig-
nation of Bandodkar Ministry on the issue
of merger of Goa. The purpose of the im-
position of ^resident's Rule was to conduct
a free and fair opinion Jbll on the issue
of merger with Maharashtra or not. The
opinion poll was held on 16 January 1967»
In the opinion Poll people decided to remain
under the authority of the Central Govern-
ment. Election to constitute a new Legis-
lative Assembly in the Union Territory was
held in March, 1967 following which a new
Ministry headed by Dayanand Bandodkar was
installed in office and the ^resident's Rule
was revoked on April 5j 1967•
73
C H A F T E R - IX
PARLIAMENT QUESTIONS ON ELECTIONS ANDELECTORAL REFORMS,, AND, THEIR AIISWERS«__
S e r i a l i s a t i o n of Par l iament Questions
on various aspects of elections and electoral
reforms and their answers on the floor of both
the Houses of Parliament during the current
session which was taken up with the issue of
March 1979 (Vol.Ill - No.3) will be continued
in the current issue and subsequent issues of
the Documentation,
This Chapter includes Parliament
Questions and their answers, in full, for the
month of March 1979.
RAJIA, SABHA
Elec t i on to Slick in? S ta te Assembly
SHRI ANANDA PATHAK :
the Min i s te r of LAW, JUSTICE AMD
COMPANY AFFAIRS be p l ea sed t o Sta te i
(a) whether dates for elect ion to the
Sikklm Legislative Assembly, the term of
which i s expiring in March, 1979 have been
fixed; and
(b) i f so, what are the d e t a i l s in t h i s
regard?
ANSWER ( 5 MARCH 1979)
THE MINISTER OF LAW, JUSTICE AND COMPANY AFFAIRS
(SHRI SKANTI BHUSHAN) :
( a ) The dates for holding elect ion to&.
•onstitute a new Legislative Assembly(b)-.
for Sikkim have not been fixed. The
question of finalisation of the sthedule
for holding the general election to
-75-
••onst i tu te a new l eg i s l a t i ve Assembly
for Sikkim, i s dependent on the coining
into force of the Constitution (Forty-
f i f th Amendment) Bi l l , 1978, a f te r i t
has been r a t i f i e d by the States and
assented to by the President . *iS the
law stands at present , the ex i s t i ng
Legislat ive Assembly of Sikkim w i l l
continue upto the 25th April , 19$O.
RAJYA SAEHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO .88^-
Legis la t ion on e l e c t o r a l reforms
' . . SHRI N.P . CHMGALRAYA NAIDU !
Vfl.ll the Minister of LAW, JUSTICE AND
COMPANY AFFAIRS be pleased to s t a t e :
(a) whether Government propose to
br ing forward a comprehensive l e g i s l a t i o n ..-
on e l e c t o r a l reforms during the current
year ; and
if so, vhst are the salient
features of the proposed legislation and
by when i t is likely to be introduced in
Parliament ?
ANSWER 5TH. MARCH, 1979
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF
HOME AFFAIRS ( P ) , LAV/, JUSTICE AND COMPANY
(SKRI 3.D. ,PATIL) I
(a) Y\**ious Drotjosals for electoral reforms&
(b) are at present under examination. Some
of the important proposals relate to
subjects like maintenance of electoral
rolls up-to-date, avoidance of misuse
of official authority and machinery at
elections, removal of corrupt practices
and money power at elections, reduction
of election expenses, quick disposal of
election petitions, reduction of voting
age from 21 years to 18 years, financing
of election expenses <rf-.p«ULtrical
"11-
candidates,.-by - the ; . •-...-.,
State ? <stc» .•• .-,
As the proposals require deep study
and careful cons idera t ion , some time
wi l l be taken to a r r ive a t dec is ion
thereon.
SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.
Elec t ion Schedule for Sikkim
SHRI VI JAY KUMAR N. PATIL :
SHRI C.R- MAEATA J
Will t he Min i s t e r of LAW, JUSTICE AND
COMPANY AFFAIRS be p leased t o s t a t e i
(a) whether attention of Government has
been drawn to the news report appearing in
the Ihdian Express dated 30th January, 1979
under the caption "Delimitation of seats
may delay Sikkim Poll",
(b) i f so, what is the reaction of
Government to the observations made thereon;
(c) whether the e lec t ion schedule for
Sikkim has bean f ina l i sed and d e t a i l s thereof
along with the d e t a i l s of proposal received
from the State Government; and
(d) react ion of Government there to ?
MSWML6TH MARGE ,, 197$)
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN TEE MINISTRY OF
HOME AFFAIRS (P) LAW, JUSTICE AND COMPANY
(SHRI SJD.PATIL) :
(a) to As the law stands a t present , the
term of the present Legislat ive
Assembly of Sikkim w i l l continue
upto 25th Apri l , 1980» However,
according to the provis ions of
clause 2k (2) of the Constitution
(Forty-f i f th Amendment) B i l l , 1978,
which has been passed by both the
Houses of Parliament and which i s
under reference to State Legislatures
for ratification, the duration of the
- 7 9 -
legislative Assembly would be
restricted to a period of h months
from the date on which those
provisions are brought into force
after the Bill has been assented
to by the President, or a period
of five years from 26th i&ril, 1975
X'/hichever period expires earlier.
The said period of ^ months is likely
to expire earlier. On this basis,
there would be h months time from
the date of bringing into force
the afore-mentioned provisions and
this should be adequate to take the
necessary steps for holding the ele-
ctions in time. Further, the election
schedule itself can be finalised only
after the Constitution (Fort>-fifth
/dnendment) Bill becomes law because
(as stated earlier) as the law stands
at present, the tern? of the present
Legislative Assembly will continue
upto 25th April, 1980.
frOK 3ii.
Ul?ST.;JiRi2) QUESTION NO
.•• - t
Proposal to Amend the Be presentat ion
of People 's Act to provide for Quali-
f i ca t ions of M.L.As. and M.P's.
SHRI RAJ KESKAR SINGH :
Will the Minister of LAW, JUSTICE AND COMPANY
AFFAIRS be pleased to s t a te t
(a) whether Government propose to
bring about amendments in the ex i s t ing Re-
presentat ion of feople ' s Act with a view to
prescribe some academic qua l i f i ca t ions for
the Members of Vidhan Sabha/Lok Sabha and
p a r t i c u l a r l y Ministers since such<- q u a l i f i -
cat ions have already been prescribed in the
Government Recruitment Rules for the appoint-
ment even for the lowest post l i k e Class IV
pos ts in the Government; and
4b) i f not , the reasons for d i s c r i -
mination in the p o l i t i c a l and adminis t ra t ive
wings of the Government ?
ANSWER 1 TH MARCH, 1979
THE MINISTER OF ST.»TE III THE MINISTRY OF liOME
AFFAIRS C P y LAW, JUSTICE_MB COMPLY AFFAIRS.
(SHRI S.D.PATIL) l
(a) No, Sir,
(b) Ihlike Government servants, the Members
of the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabhas
are representatives of the people, elec-
ted by the people on the basis of adult
franchise.
LQK .SAHHA
I3N3T.JHGD QUESTION NO. 3139
Suggestions regarding r i g h t to r e c a l l
of represen ta t ives .
: SERI YUEUJ I
Will the Minister of L»*W, JUSTICE MB
COMP/iNY AFFAIRS be pleased to s ta te J
(a) whether Lok Nayak Shri Jayaprakash
Narayan has suggested a constitutioncil provi-
sion for the recalling representatives in the
interest of establishing real democracy;
(b) wheter he has also requested that
a. study' group should be appointed soon for the
purpose %; and
(c) i f so, the time by which a consti-
tutional right to reca l l , i f necessaryjthe ele-
cted- representatives,will fee given to voters
andjif i t will not be given, the reasons there-
fore ?
THE MINISTER OF ST..TE IN THS MINISTRY OF HOME
AFFAIRS (P), .LAW,., JUSTICE i^D COMPLY 4FF,.IRS.
(SHRI S.D. PATIL )t
(a) -•• Government are aware of the suggestion.
(b) Government are not aware of any such
reouest.
-13-
(c) The suggestion of conferring the r igh t
of r eca l l i s under examination as a
par t of comprehensive proposals for
e l ec to ra l reforms. As the proposals
require deep study and careful consi-
derat ion, some more time wi l l be taken
to arr ive at a decis ion.
RAJYA SA3HA
tM STARRED QUESTION NO.
Elections to local bodies in Sikkim
SKRI SHIVA CHANDRA JHA i
Will the Minister of LAW, JUSTICE AND
COMPANY AFFAIRS be pleased to s ta te i
(a) whether i t i s a fact tha t Indians domi-
ciled in Sikkira for years do not have the r ight
to be candidates in local e lec t ions in Sikkim;
(b) If so, what are the reasons therefore;
and
Cc) what steps Government have taken to
rec t i fy the anomaly and with what resu l t s ?
-4N-
I4ARCKr, 19Z9
THE MINISTER OF L..W, JUSTICE .M) COliP.'JJY
(a) & I t i s presumed that the Member has in
(b) mind elections to the Legislative Assem-
bly of Sikkint when he refers to ' local
elections in Sikkim1. The Government
of India are concerned with elections to
the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim and .
not with elections to local bodies in
that Stato* At present out of the 32
seats in the Legislative Assembly of
Sikkim, 15 seats are reserved for Napalis
Ehutias and Lepchas of Sikkimese origin,
15 seats are reserved for Nepalis of
Sikkiraese origin and one eeat each is
reserved for the Scheduled castes and
for the Sanghas belonging to the monas-
ter ies , respectively. By virtue of • • v. .'
ar t ic le 371 F(b) of the Constitution,
-85
the existing legislative Assembly of
the State of Sikkiro is the Assembly
£>r Sikkim formed as a result of the
elections hold in Sikkin? in April, 1971*-.
3h view thereof the pattern of reser-
vation therein for different sections
of population in Sikkim, qualifications
for membership of that Assembly, as
they applied in relation to the for-
mation of that Assembly in 197*+ had to
be continued.
Cc) Ihe measures to be taken to grant
adequate representation in the Legis-
lative Assembly of Sikkim to be constitu-
ted 'in future to such of the persons
in Sikkia as are no\> ineligible to _
stand for elections to the Legislative
Assembly of that State, are under consi-
deration.
- • 6 -
LOK SA.BHA.
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO,...3.872
U t i l i s a t i o n of Government Machinery
In Chikmangalur Bye-Elec t ion .
j^-;v- SI31I PIUS TIRKEY i
SHRI SHKAM SUNDAR GUPTA :
Will the Minis te r of LAW, JUSTIGE AND COMPANY
AFFAIRS be p leased to s t a t e i
(a) whether he has received any report
about the utilisation of Government machinery
in various ways by the Congress Party during
the recent bye-election for the Qaiknangalur
Parliamentary Constituency: and
(b) if so, the action taken by the Govern-
ment in this regard ?
ANSWER 20TH MARCHT 1979
THE MHTIST3R 051 ST.iTE IIT THE MINISTRY OF
HOME AFFAIRS ( P ) , LAW, JUSTICE AND COMPANY
AFFAIRS
C SHRI S.D.PATIL ) »
-87-
(a) & Neither the Government nor the KLection
(b) Cbffinrission has received any report about
the utilisation of Government machinery
by the Congress Party during the recent
bye-election for the Chikrcagalur Parlia-
mentary Constituency* The KLection Comrai-
ssion has, however, received complaints
from some individuals (statement enclosed)
on the eve of the said bye-election and
those complaints were forwarded by the
Cbmmissission to the Chief Electoral
Officer, Karnataka, and to the Chief
Sscretary to the Government of Karnataka
for necessary action. These agencies
have not made any report to the effect
that the Government machinery was utilised
.'. .1 as stated in the question.
-8S-
Bye-election to the Iok Sabha fromChikmagalur Constituency in the Stateof Karnataka
SL. Name and address ofNo. •omplainant
1 . 2 .
Nature of complaint
3.
1. Prof. Karuna Nidhan Roy,1+6 G. Chowringhee Road,Calcutta-71» (Contestingcandidate a t that bye-election).
2. Shri Ramkrishna Hedge,General Secretary,Janata Party, Bangalore.
Indira Gandhi and ShriVeerendra Patil were manipu-lating publicity, propagandathrough Akashvani, Doordashan,PTI, UNI etc. with the helpof their sympathisers in theGovt lobby.
The Chief Minister of Karnatakais preventing police and civilAdministration from actingimpartially.
3. Shri M.K. Rao,Commercial Street,Ban galo re.
ALleged utilisation of CentralGovernment machinery by ShriDevraj Urs for furtheringprospects of election of Sat.Indira Gandhi S/Shri S.Thimmaiahof Mysore Minerals and B.M. Bhatt,Director, Mines Safety, Ministryof Labour were helping Congress (I)by giving them vehicles of themining department.
1 . 2. 3.
h. Dr. V.S. Acharya,Dakshina KannadaDistrict JanataPresident, UAupi.
5. S/Shri Ot-.1 )Basavara,3}(2) P.K.Rama Murthy and
(3) S. Siddegowda, a l l
Janata Party volunteers,
Ghikmagalur. (Complaint
forwarded by Shri M.
Chandersekhar, MLA,
Secretary, Karnataka
Pradesh ( Janata Party,
Bangalore).
6. Shri A.K- Kotra Shetti,Member of Parliament.
9. Shri Venkataraman,Secretary, KarnatakaPradesh Janata Party,Chikmagalur.
Karnataka police colluding
with Congress (I) in Chikma-
galur.
Shri A.M.R. Moses, I.A.S.
Cora mis si oner of Commercial
Taxes, Karnataka supplying
men and money to the Congress
(I) Party. He has collected
enormous funds from his
departmental subordinates
for Congress ( I ) .
Karnataka Police taking sides
with Congress ( I ) .
7. Shri S,R, Bommai, MLA, •and Shri A. Lakshmisagar, MLAi
8. Shri Kondajji Bisappa,
Chikmagalur.
-do-
Police indifference in main-
taining law and order.
LOK SABHAye .
UNSTARHED QUESTION NO.
News captioned "Defranchised Cit izens
in Sikkim'1
j - . . SHRI K.3 . CHETTRI i
Will the Minister of LAW, JUSTICE AND
COMPANY AFFAIRS be pleased to s t a t e :
(a) whether a t t en t ion of Government
had been drawn to the news repor t appearing
in the "Himalayan Observer", dated the 21st
October, 1978 an English weekly published from
Kalimpong in the D i s t r i c t of Darjeeling under
the caption, "Defranchised c i t i z e n s in Sikkim;
and
(b) i f so, what i s the reac t ion of the
Government ?.
ANSWER 20TH MARCH. 1979
THE MINISTER OF L Wy JUSTICE AND COMPANY AFFAIRS
(SHRI SHANTI EBUSKAN) :
- 9 1 -
(a) & The particular news item referred
(b) to in the question has not come
to the notice of the Government.
However, Government have received
representations for conferment of
citizenship rights on certain cate-
gories of residents of that State
who, for various reasons, had been
deprived in the past of such rights,
so that they may be enabled to exer-
cise their franchise. The matter is
under consideration.
SAEHA
STABBED QUESTION HO.^87
Rights t o Contest E lec t ions in
Slkkira.
*}..'? SBRI G.M. BANATWALLA :
DR. BUOY MONDAL S
Will the Minis ter of LAW, JUSTICE
AND COMPANY AFFAIRS be p leased to s t a t e :
(a) whether i t has come to the notice
of the Government that more than 60,000
Indians who have settled in Sikkiro since
long have the voting ri.cjht but can not
contest any election and if so, the reasons
thereof;
(b) whether Government have reelved
any representation from them recently; and
(c) whether Government propose to amend
this law and give them rights to contest
elections and if not, the reasons thereof ?
ANSWER gOTH MARCH 1979
THE MINISTER OF LAW, JUSTICE AND COMPANY AFFAIRS
SHANTT TttTTTSfiAN ) i
(a) By virtue of article 371 F(b) of the
Constitution, the existing Legisla-
tive Assembly of the State of Sikkim
is the Assembly for Sikkim formed as
a result of the elections held in
Sikkim in April, 197*+. In view thereof
- 9 3 -
the pattern of reservation therein
for different sections of popu-
lation in Sikkim, qualifications for*
for membership of that Assembly,
as they applied in relation to the
formation of that Assembly in 197^
had to be continued,
(b) Some representations have been re-
ceived in this regard.
(c) The matter is under consideration.
LOK SAEHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.If968
Issue of I d e n t i t y Cards to Voters.
••'• DR. P.V. PSRIASAMY :
Will the Minister of LAW, JUSTICE
AND COMPANY AFFAIRS be pleased to state :
(a) the State in which the Election
Commission has issued ident i ty cards to the
voters; and
Cb) whether before the next General
Election in all the States this system of
issuing identity cards would be adopted ?
ANSWER 27TH .MARCH, 1979
THE MINISTER OP STATE IN THE MINISTRY 0? HOME
AFFAIRS (R) LAW, JUSTICE AND COMPANY AFFAIRS
( SHRI. S.D.BATIL ) :
(a)&(b)The system of issuing identity cards
to th-e voters has not been introduced
by the Election Commission in any
State so far. The Commission proposes
to try the scheme of issue of photo-
graphed identity cards to voters in
the forthcoming general election to
the Sikkira Legislative Assembly, as
an experimental measure. The question
of adopting the system in elections
in other States/thion territories will
be examined after the results of the
experimental measure in Sikkim are
available.
i 95 '-
C H A P T E R - X
FOREIGN ELECTIONS
General Election to the House of the Represen-ta t lv es, Th ailand
The larliament in Thailand consists
of two Chambers, the House of the Represen-
t a t ives and the Ssnate.. The strength of the
House of the Representatives i s 301 and that
of the Senate i s 225.
The Senate i s composed of members o
appointed by the King from qualified persons
possessing knowledge and experience in various
branches of learning and affa i rs useful to
the administration of the State, who are of
Thai na t iona l i ty by bi r th and are riot l e s s
than of 35 years old and are not members of
any political parties.
Members of the Senate are not tm exceed
three fourths of the total number of the
nenbers of the House of the Itepre sen tative s.
96
As regards the terra of office of
Senators, the Constitution lays dcwn.s
"The membership of the senate is
six years from the date of i t s appointment
by the King. In the ini t ia l stage, one
third of the total number of senators
shall retire from membership by drawing
lots after serving a 2 year term of office.
.And after completing a h year term of
office after appointment by the King, the
remaining senators from drawing lots of
the first 2 year term shall retire from
the membership by one half of the total
number of the remaining senators by drawing
lots , i f the number obtained is an old
number, the fraction thereof will be dis-
regarded and i t shall be considered that
termination of membership by drawing lot
is a termination by expiration of the term
of office."
The King shall retain the right to
reappoint any member who i s terminated from
membership upon expiration of term of office.
: 97 *
The House of the Representatives
i s an elected House and is constituted
for a terra of four years.
The number of members of the House
of Representatives to be elected in each
province is calculated on the basis of
the total population of each province
according to the population registration
recently announced prior to the election
year. The number of the member to be
elected is to be in the ration of fifteen
hundred thousand population per one member
of the House of Representatives. Any pro-
vince having less than fifteen hundred
thousand population i s eligible to have -*
only.one^ memberof, the House of the
Representatives, Any province having the
population exceeding fifteen hundred
thousand is eligible to elect one addi-
tional member of the House of Represen-
tatives in the ratio of one per every fifteen
: 98 :
hundred thousand population and the
fraction thereof if more or less than
seventy-five hundred thousand population
i t is regarded as having fifteen hundred
thousand population.
In an election of House of Repre-
sentatives, the boundary of each province
i s an electoral zone except Bangkok Metro-
polis. Ihere are three electoral zones
with equal or nearest number of the House
of Representatives in each zone and further
division of each electoral zones contiguous
to each other with as close a ratio between
the number of the House of Representatives
and constitutents in each electoral zone as
possible.
Casting of votes in the election of
the House of Representatives is by a slate
of candidates nominated for election in each
electoral zone.
s 99 *
Casting of votes is executed by
means of direct and secret ballot.
A person having the following
fication has the right to vote at an ©lections-
(1) Being Thai national by birth.
A person of Thai nationality born of foreign
parentage must also be qualified according
to the Law on ELection of the House of
Ifepre sen tative s;
(2) Must be twenty years old on the
first day of January of the Election Year
and;
(3) Having the name listed in the
House1 Registration of the electoral zone*
A person having the following quali-
fications has the right to be a candidate at
an election :
(1) Being Thai national by birth,
A person of Thai nationality born of foreign
100
parentage is also qualified according to
the Law on Election of the House of Repre-
sentatives;
(2) Being not less than twenty-five
years old on the election dayj
(3) ibssessing other qualifications,
as may be prescribed in the law on Election
of the House of Rspresentatives.
The most interesting feature about
election in Thailand is that under article
57 of the Election Law, a voter must present
his Identity Card to the poll man at the
polling station in order to receive the ballot.
This is significant in view of Election
Commission of India's efforts in this regard.
Another interesting feature is that the
ballot is made of white-coloured paper with
i t s size being i*f cm wide after i t has been
folded. The right side of the ballot,
consists of a colour strip and the official
seal with the phrase 'The Rspresentative
I 101 i
Election Ballot ! f inscribed on top of the
ballot paper. Inside on the upper part,
are the instructions guiding the voters to
make the ballot correctly. The voter has
to put a cross !X! sign against the candi-
date he chooses to vote.
Thailand has a history of political
instabil i ty. After the end of absolute
monarchy in 1932, i t has 37 cabinets, 13
constitutions and 8 coups, the last of which
put General Kriangsak Chpmanan, the present
Prime Minister, in power. Experiments in
democracy following the fall of Thanom Kittika
Chorn in October 1973 resulted in weak colli-
tion Governments under four leaders, Prof.
Sanya Bharmasakthi, Mr. Seni Pramoj, his
younger brother Kukrit Pramlj and Prof.
Thanin Kraivicien. Last General Election was
held in April, 1976 when Seni Pramoj again
came to power. On October 6, 1976 Government
of Prof. Thanin Kraivicient was installed
following a coup. The recent coup under
102 :
General Kraingsak Qiamanan was staged in
November, 1977. The General promised to
hold General Election within a year after
the promulgation of the Constitution.
General Election to f i l l 301 seats
of the House of Representatives was held on
22.if. 1979. There were approximately 22,581,780
voters on rolls on the eve of elections in
1979 as against 20,623,^30 in 1976.
In 1976 there were as many as 2369
candidates in the election fray as against
626 in the recent election. As many as 36
political parties participated in the election
this time as against Ho political parties in
1976. In the final results only 15 parties
could secure seats in the House of Bepre-
sentatives.
Election campaign in Thailand is known
for i t s large scale violance. In the recent
election more than a zonen, including two
candidates were killed in the election
campaign.
i 103 «
The turn of voters this time was
per cent as against *t-3.99# in 1976.
The number of seats won by various poli-
t ica l parties i s given in the table belowJ-
T A B L E
Total Seats 301
Parties Seats won
1. Social Action Party
2. Chart Thai
3. Independents
J+.Prachakarn Party
5.Democratic Party
6.Seritham Party
7.Chart Prachachon
8.New Force Party
9.Social Agragarian Party
10.Democratic Action Party11.Exam Thai
12.Kitchethan Party13.Siam Iteform Party
1 -. Social Justice Party
15» Pro-Kriangsek
82
38
63
32
32
21
13
8
3
32
1
1
1
1
Total 301.
No single part / received enough
seats to form a Government of i t s own.
Prime Minister, Kriangsak Chomanan, a
retired army General, who was not a can-
didate, i s expected to muster sufficient
strength among Independents and Centrist
Party to remain in office. Kriangsak, who
has led Thailand for the las t 18 months,
has commanding structural advantage over
his r ival . The country^1 constitution
promulrgated las t year at his biding, pro-
vides for something less than democracy.
I t allows him to appoint al l the 225 members
of Senate, presumably from amongst sympathi-
sers leaving out only 301 members of the
Lower House to be elected by the electoral
process. Since both the Houses should meat
together for such pivotal question as no
confidence votes etc, Kriagsak should be
assured <bf a majority, Kriagsak has since
formed the Government.
« Based on Newspapers and
periodicals reporting and the
.information received from Thai-
land Babassy._/
105
G H A P T E R - XT
REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION TO MIZORAMLEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY APRIL 1979.
The Union T e r r i t o r y of Mizoram went
to p o l l s in April 1979 to e l e c t members to
the Legis la t ive Assembly for the t h i r d time
since i t s formation in January 1972. The
F i r s t General Elect ion to Mizoram l e g i s l a t i v e
Assembly was held In Apri l 1972. As the f i r s t
meeting of the Assembly was held on 10 May,
1972, i t s f ive year term expired on 9 May>
1977. General Election for c o n s t i t u t i n g a
new Assembly could no t however, be held a t
the appropr ia te time due to unstable p o l i -
t i c a l s i t ua t i on in the Union T e r r i t o r y . The
Union Ter r i to ry was placed under P r e s i d e n t ' s
Rule, for the f i r s t t ime, on 11 May 1977.
Second General Elect ion to c o n s t i t u t e a
new Assembly in the Union T e r r i t o r y was held
in May, 1978. Again, due to unstable p o l i -
t i c a l s i t u a t i o n , the Union Te r r i t o ry was
placed under P r e s i d e n t ' s Rule for a second
106
time, on 11 November, 1978, thus cutting-
short the life of the Assembly elected in
May 1978. However* on 23 March 1979, the
Lt. Governor of Miaoram issued a notification
cation calling upon a l l the Assembly Cbn-
stitu£noies in the Tfoion Territory to elect
representatives to constitute a new Legis-
lative Assembly.
Bef&re the general election April,
1979, the rolls were revised sunnaarily with
1-1-1979 as the qualifying date as per
following programme t-
(a) draft publication of 1^.1.1979electoral rolls
(b) las t date for filing 1*+. 2.1979claims and objections
(c) disposal of claims and 28.2.1979objections; and
(d) final publication 16.3.1979of electoral rolls
There has been a considerable in-
crease In the number of electors in Mizoram
The figure of electors which was 1^6,901
in 1972, went up to 239,9*f6 in 1978 and to
in 1979. The rolls had been
107
revised intensively in 1977 and summ-
arily in 1978 with reference to
I January %t each ttre^B tv» -years.
After the final publication of
the rolls , the Commission fixed the
following programme for the election '.-
i ) last date for 30 March 1979making nominations;
i i ) the date of scrutiny 31 Maroh 1979of nominations;
i i i ) last date for with- 2 April 1979
drawal of candidatures;
iv) dates of poll; and 2^,27 April 1979
V) date of completion 7 May 1979of election
The polling was spread over two days
This had been done having regard to the
difficult terrain and poor means of commi-
unications.in the Union Territory.
Altogether 1$5 nominations were filed,
of which one was rejected and 1*+ were with-
drawn, leaving a total of 15"O candidates in
the fray. During the General ELection to
108
the legislat ive Assembly in 1972 and 1978,
there were 155 and tfk candidates in the
f ie ld . Inis indicates a down-ward trend in
the number of contestants for each general
election.
In i978,ELection, no National Party-
contested the pol l . However, the recent
General ELection was fought by two National
Parties, v iz . , the Janata Party and the
Indian National Congress (I) along with the
regional Party, the People's Conference and
some Independents.
There was.-no straight contest in any
constituency-.nor was there any un-opposed
return. The election fight was triangular
in 5 constituencies; quadrangular in h
constituencies, pentagonal in 13 consti-1...••-
tuencies and hexagonal in 3 constituencies.
There were 7 candidates in k constituencies
and 8 candidates in one tonstituency.
The number of polling stations showed
an- up-ward thrust . In 1972 there were 3
109
232 polling stations which increased to
3^0 in 1978 and to 368 in 1979 General
Election.
The polling went off peacefully
and without any untoward incident in
any constituency,
Out of the total electorate of
2lH,90»f on rolls, i6?,32>f voters (68.3W
exercised their franchise in ttae 1979
General Election as against 1*+2,3O8 voters
(63.27%) who voted in the 1978 General
Election. The number of rejected votes
was 1,838 in 1978 and 1,5^6 in 1979,
The counting of votes was taken up
on 28 April 1979 in respect of 26 constit-
uencies and on 2 and 3 May 1979 in respect
of the remaining k constituenciesT The
counting went off smoothly in a l l consti-
tuencies,
The Table below reflects the party-
wise break-up of the contestants, seats
won, and valid votes polled?-
110
Party
1.
JNP
INC(I)
PPC
TOTAL
T A B L
No. o fCon tested
2 .
' 36
25
27
150
E S
CandidatesElected
3 .
2
5
fB
30
Valid VotesPolled
• i f .
21,690
39,098
^ :515
1,#3,778
Ssnior Government Officers of the
Union Territory were appointed Commission1 s
observers for the intensive supervision
of polling and counting of votes. These
observers were required to seek direction
from and report to the Commission only.
/ These elections were hailed as free
and fair by the press.
* * * * * * * * * *
DocumentationMonthly
HAY
torn mission of India
C O N T E N T S
PAGES
Chapter - I
Bboks and Articles 3 — 15
Chapter - I I
Notes on Judicia l Decisions in 16 - 23Election Pe t i t ions .
Chapter - I I I
Notes on Disqualification of 2*+Members by the Commission.
- IV
Party Ibsition in Legislative 25 - 30Assemblies.
- V
Disposal of ELection Bstitions 31 - 3^
(i) Iok Sabha
(ii)Legislative Assemblies
Chapter - VI 35 - 55
(i) ^re-elections
( i i ) Vacancy Table
Chapter ~ VII
Commission's views "on 56 - 8*fElectoral Be forms - Series III
Chapter ~ VIII
jRarliament Questions on Elections 85 - 88and Electoral Reforms and their.Answers. I&rt - i n
Chapter - IX
Pbreign Elections 89 - 103
L^ /
Ihe documentation i s intended to acquaint
the Officers and Staff of the Commission and the
Chief Electoral Officers and their staff with
articles on current political issues published in
periodicals/newspapers, received in the Commi-
ssion's Library, developments in the field of
Electoral Law and Procedure, progress of the
disposal of election petitions and judicial deci-
sions thereon, Commission's decisions on questions
as to disqualification of members to either House
of Parliament or of the State Legislatures, Party
position in the Legislative Assemblies of the
States and the Union Territories and bye-elections
to both Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures,
This issue also includes a brief report,
based on press reports, on the General ELections
recently held for the House of Commons of Ihited
Kingdom, third instalment of Commission's views on
various aspects of electoral reforms that appeared
in the press from time to time and Parliament
questions on ELections and Electoral Reforms and
their answers on the floor of both the Houses of
Parliament during the Budget Session,
t 3
LIST OF ARTICLES
Altken, Ian Mrs. Tnatcher vows.1 No Compromisef.
Ohe Guardian .: May 27,1979P. 5*
Banerjee, Sivadas
Barnett, -Anthony
ib l i t l c s In West Bengal.
IWI s May 27, 1979,pp. 13 - 15.
China1 s IHploraatic Itefeat.
MainstBeam : May •<.=1979pp. 1 9 - 2 0 . '
Biatt , V.R. The "Iron Lady" In EbwningStreet.
IWI t May 20, 1979,pp. 29-31»
Boyd, Francis
Chitta Ranjan, C.N,
A !Dory Arcadia the secondtime round ?
The Guardian t April 29,1979,p . S*
Janata Micawberisnu
Mainstream t May 26, 19791PP» 1-3.
UJK» JSLeotions - No IbsyItoad for lo r ies .
Mainstream 1 May 12,1979,pp. 30 - 32.
Deming, Angusand others.
Bri tain 's fIron lady.1
Newsweek : May 11*, 1979,pp. 20 - 2^.
Farley, J.G. Ib l i t i ca l ManoeuvringIn I t a ly IThe Communists1 CbntinuingDilemma.ftie Ibund Table 1 October, 1978,pp. ^ ^
Husbands, Christopher T& England, Jude
!Ihe hidden support forracism.
New Statesman t May 11»1979§pp. 6$k - 676.
Despite i t s electoralsetback, should theNational Front be banned ?
Kellner> Rater Not a defeat t a disaster*
New Statesman 1 May 18,1979|pp. 70k - 705.
How voters became' lb r i e s by experience.1
Lewis, James Tory plans under f i r e .
The Guardian I .April 29$ 1979 >P. 3 .
Limaye, Madhu \to are the Splitters ?
Mainstream t May 5,1979»PP. 3 - 5 .
Jbcus on Janata in-fighting,
* 5
Link Nepal On Ohresholdof Change.
Link : June 3»W9,pp. 8 - 9 ,
Louis, AraL B. 3hdira Gandhi - Back ToHie Wall.
India Todar * May 1-15,1979,pp. 39 -39
Manor, James Indira Aid After tIbe Decay of PartyOrganisation In India*
The Round Table * October,1978,PP. 3i53&k
Menon, K.P.S.
Mittal, Nemi Sharan
After %eznev, Vtoat ?
IWI * May 20,1979,pp. U$ - 5i .
Vinoba - Indira - JP Triangle.
Rrobe i May 1979, pp. . *pp. 5 - 12«
Morris Jones, W.H. Military Ibver InIb l i t l c s .
Ihiprint t May 1979,pp. 55 -65.
Namboodiri, P.K*S. Nepal - Momentous Baysittiead.
Mainstream * June 2,1979»pp. k - 6.
Narain, Iqbal India 1978 s Ibliticsof Nontssues.
Asian Survey '•February 1979,pp. 16? - 177.
Probe After Qiutto What ?
Probes May 1979,PP. 72 - 73-
Raphael, Adam If You step out of line -i t r s addio.
The Observer *May 20, 1979, PP 11.
The author describes thenew lhatcher style ofgovernment.
Raphael, Adam Maggie i s a cautiouslady.
The Observer : May 6,1979,P. 9.
The author dtecusses thel ikely shape of the newGovernment.
Havindranath m i l the 'Third Ebrce1
Bnerge ?
Onlooker : May 16-31,1979,pp. 20 - 23.
Shastry, K.K. Stranglehold ofThe RSS. ?
IWI : May 13, 1979,pp. 8 - 10.
Sharma, Narendra Aiding Fuel to the Fire .
Mainstream : May 12,1979,PP. 3 - 5 .
Pbcus on Janata LabourIbl icy .
Singh, Iqbal Elections Galore sChoose "four Europe.
Link t June 3, 1979,PP. 27 - 32.
Stern, Geoffrey Qreznev And The FutureLeadership And !Rieof Succession In TheSoviet Uiion.
The Round Table : October 197$,pp. 3^0 3^7
Telang, G.M» Uganda After Anin.
IWI t May 20,1979,pp. 19 - 20.
Tine A Tory WLnd Of Change.
Time J May 1*f, 1979,' ' » pp. 6-8 & 10-11.
8
Tine Maggie's Mixed Team,
Hue J May 1^,1979,p. 12.
Trikannad, S» andNarayan, Raj an
Verghese,
How Ministers MakeMoney.
Imprint ? May 1979»PP. 10 « 32.
Janata Party - A Taleof Lost Opportunities.
India Today : May 1-15,79-pp. 1*f - 15.
VJheen, Francis Vtoat's under the IbryKilt ?
New Statesman, .April 27,1979*pp. 582 - 583.
m i l , George Margaret The F i r s t .
Newsweek t May 1*+, 1979,p . 28.
Williams* Shirley Vhy we lo s t - how to win*
!ttie Observer | May 13>1979»p . 9«
factors that costLabour so many seats -including her own • andthe changes the party mustmake*
WLntour, Patrick Aftermath of defeat.
New Statesman $May 11, 1979.P. 671.
Zaeharias, K.T. Kerala - fye»JSL@ctionIbl i t i c s ,
Boo. &5o
May 5i 19Jf9»pp. 802- 803»
Weekly t
Zakaria, Fatwa R, Turwoil In IndianIbXitics .
IWI i May 30, 1979,pp. 6 » 17«PP
Abraham, A.S . Britain UnderIbrids * Will the«»Two Nations" Go 3bWar ?
Ihe .Tines of India tNew Delhi, May 8,1979,p. 6.
Apple, R#W. Jr, New look %r TK IbreignIblicy ? - Renty ofBough Spots.
3he Tines of .India sNew Delhi, May 10,1979,p. 6.
10
Ctahabra, Hari Sharan
Ghowla, N*L?
In Aftica After A*in,
3he Hindustan Times INew Delhi, May 10,19791p . 7.
Boll campaign in tk IIhe 'great TV row1
Indian Express «New Delhi, / p r i l 30,1979,p . 6.
Das, Nabagopal Vhat*s Wrong WithJ t Iblioy.
The 3tateawanl New Delhi,May 17, 1979, P. 6 .
Doder, Duske Quebec issue t Canada'syear of decision.
Indian Express I May 1*+, 1979,p» 6#
Harrison, Charles Uganda After Anin,
The Statesman '• New Delhi,May 12, 1979, p . 6»
Honey, Martha Obote Vfaits fbr a newchance*
Indian Skpress tNew Delhi, May 17,1979,p . 6,Uganda after Jtain.
Indian ibcpress A n%w factor InI ta l ian Iblitl<?s.
Indian Bcpress INew Jfeihl, May 16, 1979,p« 6,
Jacks«n, Harold New Canadian PM - Sheuneasy populist 'whomastered his machine*
Indian Express fNew Jtelhi, Msy 31,1979,p# 6.
John, K.C« New Alimaents InKerala Likely.
The Ttaai of India tNew Delhi, May 15,1979,p . 6.
Kellner, Ifeter Ihe voters who switchsides.
New Statesman tApril 27, 1979pp. 586 - 87.
Kusurak&r, H. Urs At The Gross roadsIn I b l i t i c a l Career.
Tho Hoes of Ihdia »New Delhi, May 28, 1979,p* 8.
, Madhu -'"'" China Policy J Hspetitionof Past MLstak.es* "
Patriot t New Delhi,M K 1$79 2
Referendum In Nepal -Promises Aid P i t fa l l s .
Ihe Times of India sNew Delhi, May 31,1979,p . 6.
Mathew, KJC. Constitution -Amending the federalstructure - I .
Indian Express JNew Delhi, May 17,1979,p . 6»
Nair, V,M, Testing Time &>rMrs. Thatcher.
The Statesman s New Delhi*M 8, 197$S P- 6 *
Nanriya, Parliament <&id I t sPrivileges t
Need 5br Codification.
The Times of India »New Delhi, May 8,1979,p . 6.
Nayar, Kuldip Options before Janata.
Indian Express * New Delhi,May 2, 1979,, p . 6.
13
Nayar$ Kuldip Time for reorganisation
Indian Exoress I New Delhi,May 10, 1979, P. 6.
Tne spl i t t ing of U.P.
Patriot Kerala Eye-election tTest of CPM Professions.
Patriot t May 9, 1979,p . 2.
P t l l a i , M.K. UNP«s Big Win in Iankalocal Poll .
The Tines of India *New Delhi, May 2?, 1979,p . 6.
Sahay, S, A Close look - CynicismSbwards Gomniissions.
The Statesnian t Mew Delhi,May 17, 1979, p . 6,
Sahay, S. A GLose look I BarliawentaryPrivileges.
The Statesman * New Delhi,May 31, 1979, p . 6,
Sen, A.N. Odd Side Of ELectionIn Britain.
Tne Times of India tHew Delhi, May ht 1979,p. 6.
Sharxna, L«K. Janata In-Fighting &/.<.•Strengthens F.M*
The Times of India tNew Delhi, May 7, 1979,p. 6.
Singh, Iqbal a-it ish Elections *Choice Between !Bed!
and BLue.
Patriot ! New Delhi,May 1, 1979, p . 2.
Singh, Iqbal Difficult StruggleA d Ebr Labour Party.Patriot , May 26, 1979iP* 2,
Singh, Iqbal
Singh, S. Nihal
Ibry Problem * GapBetween Promise AndPerformance, '•
Patriot l Ifew Delhi,May 22, 1979', p . 2.
Playing Games * TheALchenry Of Indian I b l i t i c s ?
Ihe Statesman i New Delhi,1
Hay 8, 1979, P* 6, J
Sundar Rajan, K.R# !Ihe High CSost of Mrs.< d h i J
The Hindustan !Tifiies INew Delhi j May Iif 1979fP* 7*
Sundar Rajan, K*R* The Thanjavur
The Hindustan Times :New Delhi, May 25, 1979,p . 7.
- 16 -
CEAPTEB-II
NOTES ON JUDICIAL BBCTgEOffS INELECTION PETITIONS
During the month under review^
decisions in six election pet i t ions given
by various High Courts and Supreme Court were
received in the Commission. All these p e t i -
tions were related to Assembly elect ions.
Of these, four pet i t ions were dismissed by
the High Courts; one was allowed by the
High Court and the remaining one appeal was
also accepted by the Supreme Court,
* * * * *
- 17 -
EJECTIONJgTITION NO. 5>OF 1978
I - Muppalaneni Seshagiri Rao
Vs.
Kona Prabhakar Rao and another.
Muppalaneni Seshagiri Rao, a
defeated candidate, f i led a peti t ion challeng-
ing the election of K.Prabhalcar Rao to
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from
98-Bapatla Constituency on the grounds of
Commission of corrupt practices under
Section 123(7) of the Representation of the
People Act, 19J?1 and i r r egu la r i t i e s in the
counting of votes* He also alleged that the
respondent was disqualified to be chosen as a
member of the State Legislative Assembly under
Article 191(1) of the Constitution of India as
he was holding the office of prof i t as the
Chairman of the State Travel and Iburism a>ard
and a member of the Aidhra Pradesh Film Deve-
lopment Corporation,
2he High Court held the respondent
gui l ty of corrupt practice under Section 123(7)
of the Representation of the People Act, 19^1
because he had procured the services of
Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer
for furtherance of his election propsects.
- 18 -
The High Court also held that the
respondent was holding an office of profit
on the day of his filing nomination papers as
the Chairman of the State Travel and Tourism
Ebard.
The High Court, therefore, declared
the election of K.jPrabhakar Rao from
98-&patla Assembly Constituency as void.
• • * * *
- 19 -
BISECTION PETITIOH NO,16 OF~~ANDHRA Htfi^B?^*
I I * Saikam Arjun Ba®
Vs.
Mandali Venkata Krishna Bao
Saikam Arjun Rao, a defeated candidate,
f i led a pet i t ion challenging the election of
Maxjfcali Venkata Krishna Bao to Jr.dhra Pradesh
legis la t ive Assembly from 91-Avanigadda
Cbnstituency on the grounds of commission of
corrupt practices enumerated in Section 123(1)
of the Bepresentation of the People Act, 1951
and improper reception of votes. 3he pet i t ioner
made a prayer that he be declared elected.
2he respondent fi led a recrimination
peti t ion contending that even i f his election
were set aside, the peti t ioner should not be
declared elected*
The High Court held that al legations
made in the peti t ion have not been proved and
accordingly dismissed the pe t i t ion .
* * *
- 20 -
QNNOt2 9P i q 7 7ELECTION EBfl , , . . r o r o . w
1
I I I , Sharief-ud-Dln
• Vs.
GuOLam Basool
&iarief~Ud-.Din, a defeated candidate,
f i led a pet i t ion challenging the election
of Gulam Ifesool to the Janmu & Kashmir
Legislative Assembly from 9-Sangrama Gonsti-
tuen cy,
Ihe pe t i t ioner l a t e r f i led an
application for the withdrawal of pet i t ion
which was granted by the Court. Ihe pet i t ion
was, therefore, dismissed as withdrawn.
• • • * *
~ 21 -
ELECTION PETITION NO «25 OJL 1977
IV. Stta Bam
Vs.
Sharaschandra Jhariya and others.
SLta Sam Sbnkar, a defeated
candidate, filed a petition challenging the
election of Sharaschandra .Jhariya to the Madhya
Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 208-Gotegaon
(SC) Constituency on the ground of improper
acceptance of the nomination papers of
respondents Iboraa Lai, Itebu Lai, Eala Prasad
and Bam Prasad.
The Court, however, held that i t
could not be proved that the result of the
election in so far as i t concerned the returned
candidate had been materially affected by the
improper acceptance of nomination papers of
aforesaid respondents, and accordingly
dismissed the petition.
* * * * *
- 22 -
ELECTION PETITION NO.27 OF 1977MADHYA PRADESH
V. San tosh B i a r t i
Vs.
Prabhu Narayan Tan don and o t h e r s .
San tosh Biarti, a defeated candidate,
filed a petition challenging the election of
Prabhu Narayan Tandon to the Jfedhya Pradesh
Legislative Assembly from 53-Efeinoh Consti-
tuency on the ground of commission of corrupt
practices mentioned in Section 123(7) of the
Representation of the Jfeople Act, 1951 by
the respondent, his election agent and by
other persons with the consent and knowledge
of the returned candidate.
The Court, after carefully examining
the evidences and material adduced before i t ,
held that the petitioner had failed In subs-
tantiating the allegations and accordinly
dismissed the petition.
* * * * *
; - 2J- -
CIVIL APPEAL NQ.1936 CNQS) OFSUPREME COURT
Janardan Dattuppa Ibndre
Vs.
Govind Prasad Shiv Prasad Choudhri
Ih i s was an appeal d i r ec t ed aga ins t
the order of the High Court of Bombay s e t t i n g
as ide the e lec t ion of Janardan Dattuppa Ibndre
to the Maharashtra Leg i s l a t ive Assembly from
lO^f-Chikle Constituency on the ground of
i r r egu la r i t i e s in counting of votes.
Ohe High Court had held that the
election of Janaradan Dattuppa Ibndre was void
as he secured 191 votes less than the next
candidate Eharat Rajabham Bbndre, the £th res-
pondent and declared him as duly elected.
On appeal, ttie Supreme Court after
hearing both the par t ies concluded that once
the benefit of 2 D votes was given to the
appellant, he became the candidate securing
highest number of votes and as such his
election cannot be declared void. Accordinly,
the appeal was allowed and order of the High
Court declaring the election of appellant void
and further declaring the 5th respondent duly
elected, was set aside.
- 2k -
- in
During the month under review no
pet i t ion for the removal or reduction
of the period of disqualification for
membership of the Parliament or a State
Legislature was decided by the Election
Commission.
* * * * *
-IV
The party position in the Legislative
Assemblies of States/tMon Territories as on
1 Jfey 1979 differed from that on 1 April 1979 in
the following respectt-
Ih Assam Legislative Assembly* one CEM
legis la tor l e f t the party and declared himself:
Independent, as a resul t of which number of
Independents went up from 9 to 10 and that of
CPM declined from 11 to 10,
In Haryana Legislative Assembly, the
number of Independents went up from 2 to 3
following the Narnaul bye-election.
In Karnataka Legislative Assembly, two
Janata Legislators defected to Congress ( I ) ,
whereby strength of Congress (I) went up to 156
from 15U and that of Janata declined from £7 to
In Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
7 Independent Legislators joined Janata Party
raising i t s strength from 230 to 237 correspon-
dingly reduced the number of Independents from
10 to 3 .
In Man i pur Legislative Assembly a l l
the four CPI legis la tors resigned from the
Assembly.
-26-
3h TJttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly,
2 Independents joined Janata I&rty, thus
raising i t s strength from 353 to 355> and one
Independent aligned himself to Hiarttya
Socialist Party, Hie number of Independent
legislators accordingly declined from 9 to 6.
PARTY POSITION IN THE STATE/IMION TEKRrroKTEs ASSEMBLIES
State/IhionTerritory
1.
TotalStrength
2 .
Janata
3 .
Congress(I)
h.
1.5.1979
Congress
5.
CPI
6 ,
CB.
7.
Others
8.
Indepen-dents
9.
Vacant*
10..)i
• JAndhra Eradesh
Assam
Bihar @
Guj arat
Haryana
Himachal Eradesh
•JaEBinu & Kashmir
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra @
Manipur
Maghalaya
126
32*f
182
90
68
76
320
288
60
60
50
60
107
78
5**11
9
237
99
216
9
57
8
-
7
156
19
58
52
11
7
23
13
7
1
9
1
1
20
21
29
6
6
at
-
—
-
-
3
-
1
-
•—•
8
10
k
-
mm
* - •
-
17
-
9
-
3
8
16
if
-
-
5»f
2
1*8
90
-
•?7
2
10
10
6
3
5
3
5-
3
8
1
2
2
1
2
51
1.' 2. 3. 6. 8. 10.
Nag aland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan @
Sikkim @
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Arunachal Pradesh (
Delhi ***
Goa,DaBJan & ELu
Mizoram
Pondi cherry
60
1 7
117
200
32
23^
60
-if 25
29k
§ 30
56
30
30
30
Obtal 3,997
116
25
26
355
2$
21
1.791*
21
.15
25
5
2
16
11
27
7
10
1 1
7 8
•% 1
9
2 178
58
181
7
>60
8
53
2
1
2
10 1 - . -
Assembly dissolved oft 28 April, 1979
5 - - ' i - . 18 !
Assembly dissolved -«n 11 November, 1978.
767 200 300 22
@ Latest Party Position net received
* Excluding 2*f seats in Pakistan occupied Territory.*** le lhl Metropolitan Cbunci^.
29
Other Parties include s-
1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Assam
3. Bihar
*+. Gujarat
5. Jaramu & Kashmir
6. Karnataka
7. Kerala
8. Maharashtra
9. Meghalaya
10. Nagaland
11. Punjab
12. Rajasthan
Majillis Ittehad - ul- Muslimmen 3
Plains Tribals Council of Assam *f, Itevolutionary CommunistParty of India h.
Ibrward ELoc 1, United Opposition IFront 7, All India Jharkand 1,Lok Paksha "Vidhayak Dca ?',
Group of f i lLAs. of original Congress but not joined in any ofthe two present Congress Party.
National Conference 50, Jamat Islarai, 1, Janata Front 3»
Muslim League 1, Itepublican Party of India 1.
Kerala Congress 19» Itevolutionary Socialist Party of India 9Muslim League 11, Muslim League (Opposition) 3, P.S.P.2, NationalDemocratic Party (Nair) 2, National Democratic Party (Pil lai) 2.
Peasants and Workers Party 13, Republican Party of India (Kanfole) 3,All India Muslim League 2, Eprward Bloc 1*+, Republican Party(Khobragade) 2, Maharashtra Purogami Vidhi Mandal Congress Paksha 36,Purogami Vidhi Mandal Congress Paksha - Independent 5S MaharashtraSamajwadi Congress 2, Lok Sahi Congress Group 9, Nag VLdharbha^ l Saroiti 2, RPI (Gavai) 2.
All Party Hill leaders Conference 31 s Hill State People DeoocraticParty 13, Public Demands Implementation Contention 3] IfeghalayaIhited Legislature Jront 10.
United Democratic Front 39» National Convention of Nag&land 1,NPCC 15.
Shiromani ikal i Dal ^8.
Progressive Party k*
30
13. TsHil Nadu
1*+, Tripura
15. test Bengal
16. Arunachal Pradesh
17. MtzoraK
18. Uttar Pradesh
AIDMK 126, EMK h?, Indian National R>rward HLoc 2, Ta©il Naduft?ogressive Toilers Party 2, Sbrward Eoe 1, Mbslim Ldague 1,Gandhi Kamaraj National Congress 2.
RSP 2, ibrward ELoc 1, Tripura IJpajatl Juva. * Sanity f.
Ibrward BLoc 26, RSP 20. Bevolutionary Communist Party ofIndia 3, Sbrvrard ELoc (Marxist) 3* H.plabi Bangla Congress 1,Socialist Unity Centre if. Muslim League 1, Congress PbrDenocraty.'i, CPI (Marxifet Leninist) 1.
People's Party of Arunachal Pradesh 8.
People's Qonference 18»
Biartiya Sicial is t Farty 1.
31
C H A P T E R - V
DISPOSAL OF ELECTION PETITIONS
T A B L E - I
Total number of election pe t i t i ons f i led,disposed of, s t i l l pending in the HighCourts and appeals pending in the SupremeCourt - Lok Sabha Elections March, 1977.
me of State/ion Territory
-Andhra Pradesh
Assam
BLhar
Gujarat
Jamnm & Kashmir
Karaataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh.
.Maharashtra
.Punjab
Jtejasthan
.Sikkixn
Hied
3
3
3
2
1
1.
'?2
2
1
1
1
31.5.1979
Election Petitionsin the High Courts
Disposed Pendingof
3 1
3
2 1
2
1
1
* 52
2 -
1
1
1
Filed
1
1
-
-
3
1
-.
2
-
Appeals in theSupreme Court
K-sposed Peof
••••
+*+
-
-
-
1
-
1
-
ndin
1
1
-
-
-
-
2
1
-
1
-
32
1. ~2. 3 . ^. 5. 6. 7.
13.
15.
16.
17.
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Jfradesh
Vfest Bengal
Jan.daman & NicobarIslands
lakshadweep
l+
1
3
1
1
k
1
3
1
1
total 35 3^ 1 8 2 6
In a l l , 35 election pet i t ions arose out of the Lok
Sabha ELection, March 1977* Of these, 3*+ have been disposed of
by the various High Courts and only one i s pending. In 8 cases,
appeals against the order or decision of the High Courts were filed
in the Supreme Court. 2tae Supreme Court has disposed off only two
appeals and six are pending.
33
I A B L J5 •- I I
Number of election pet i t ions fileddisposed of, s t i l l pending in theHigh Courts and appeals pending inthe Supreme Cburt - Elections tothe Legislative Assemblies - 1977-78.
Name of State/Union territory
LAidhra Pradesh
2. Assam
3.BLhar
^.Haryana
5.Hiaachal Pradesh
S. Jamrau & Kashmir
7.Karnataka
3, Kerala
J.Madhya Pradesh
). Maharashtra
I.Msghalaya
I. Nag aland
UOrissa
Piled
21
9
31
7
19
7h
19
28
13
1
9
6
3 1 . 5. 1979
ELection Ifetitionsin the High Cburts
tdsposedof
1?
7
19
7
if
1
19
25
if
1
3
6
Fending
6
2
12
-
1-
1*f
73mm
3
9
6
Appeals in theSupreme Cburt
Filed Disposedof
2
2
3
1
-
2 "•
5 3
^ 1
2 1
1
Itending
2
2
3
1
2
2
3
1
1
' • ' * " ,
• 1 2. 3.
11f. Punjab
i5.Rajasthan
16. Tamil Nadu
17. Tripura
i8.Uttar Pradesh
19.West Bengal
UNION TERRITORIES
LArunachal Pradesh
2.Delhi
3.Goa,JDaman & Diu
if.Mizoraiu
5 .Pondi cherry
16
18
8
-
37
1
-
V+
1
-
. 2
28
*+.
1 6
9 2
If
_ —
9 8
7.
2
8
Total 329 183 1U6 1+3 36
A tota l of 329 election peti t ions were filed in the
various High Courts following the Assembly Elections 1977 - 78.
Of these, 183 election pet i t ions have so far been disposed of:f,
and Ik6 are pending. In a l l *f3 appeals against the order ot
decision of the High Courts were filed in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has disposed of •? appeals and 36 are pending.
i 35 -
C H A P T E R - VI
BYE - ELECTIONS AND VACANCIES
BYE - ELECTIONS
During the month of Kay 1979, in a l l
5 bye-elect ions were held, one to the Lok
Sabha fi\jm Madhya Jradesh and four to the
Legis la t ive Assembly from Kerala.
The bye-elect ion to the Iok Sabha
was held from 10 - Sidhi consti tuency in
Madhya Pradesh. Bye-elections to the Legis-
l a t i v e Assembly of Kerala were held from
2- Kasargod, 12 - Tel l icherry , i0?-3hi ruval la
and i fO- Parassala cons t i tuenc ies .
The bye-election to the 10- Sidhi
Parliamentary Constituency v/as caused due
to the death of the sit t ing member Surya
Narain Singh on 1^ December 1978, After
the publication of the revised electoral
rol ls in the constituency on 20 April, 1979
the Commission fixed the following poll
programme J-
36
a) issue ofnotification;
b) last date of filingnominations;
c) date of scrutiny ofnominations;
d) last date for thewithdrawal ofcandidatures;
e) date of poll, i fnecessary; and
f) date of completionof poll.
23 4?ril, 1979(Monday)
30 .April 1979(Monday)
1 May, 197(Tuesday
3 May, 1979(Thursday)
27 May 1979(Sunday)
31 May, 1979(Thursday)
As many as 23 candidates filed their
nominations* Thirteen candidates withdrew
their candidatures leaving a total of 10
candidates in the election fray. Eight
Independents, the Congress (I) and the
Janata Party candidates constituted the
line up for the contest after the with-
drawals. In the General Election to the
Lok Sabha 1977* in this constituency 10
nominations were filed. After the with-
37
drawal of k candidatures 6 candidates
remained in the fray. One candidate
each was put up by Indian National Con-
gress and the Janata Party, The rest
four were Independents.
Sight senior officers of the Madhya
Pradesh Government were appointed Observers
for the bye-election.
The polling was by and large peace-
ful and no major incident was reported
from any part of the constituency. 822
polling Stations were put up this time,
128 more than during the 1977 election.
Ihe contest was mainly between the
Janata Party and the Congress (I) . Out
of a total electorate of 6j 1+6,565 only
1f9*+j139 voters exercised their franchise.
As against this in the General ELection
1977 out of an electorate of 590*957 as
J 38 *
many as 2^6^,662 voters cast their ballot.
However, the number of rejected votes was
far less in the bye-election. Prom 12,003
votes in 1977 i t declined to $9h2B in the
bye-election*
Ravinandan Singh of the Janata Party
won the bye-election but with a reduced
margin of 17,333 votes over his nearest
Congress (I) rival Motilal Singh. The
margin of the Janata candidate's victory
in 1977 election was 76,lf73.
The Table below gives a comparative
account of the performance of the candi-
dates in the General ELection 1977 as well
as bye-election 1979.
f A.BA B
General Election 1977
Iidate Party Tfotespolled
Bye-election 1979
Candidate Party \btespolled
uryanarain BLDSingh
ana Hiadur INCSingh
al i t IND
an daman Singh IND
ashi Prasad IND
hhatrapati INDSingh
1,if 1,968 1.Ravindndan Singh JNP 79,968
65,^95 2 .Mot i la l Singh INC(l) 62,637
7,627
PrasadPandeya
ShankarMishra
IND
IND
h,216 S, Ihdiveram IND
*f,i69 6 .Chhedi la l Gupta. IND
7. Dal Pratap Singh IND
8.Buddhasen IND
9.Dilip Sai IND
10.Shiv Mohan Das IND
5,066
^,392
2,88if
1,713
601
ifO
Ihe four bye-elections to the Kerala
Legislative Assembly were held fron? 2 -
Kasargod, 12- Tellicherry, 105- Ihiruvalla
and iko~ Parassala cci^tiiuencies. Ihe
vacancies in all the cases were caused by
the dekth of the sitting members of the
respective constituencies. The details are
as under *-
Name of the Reason of Date ofConstituency vacancy - Vacancy.
Death of
1.2-Kasargod Sh. T.A.Ibrahin? 10.8.78
2.1*+0-Barassala Sh. Kunju Krishnan 15.8.78
Nadar
3.105-Ihiruvalla Sh. E.John Jacob 26.9.78
^-.12-Tellicherry Sh. Pattiam 27.9.78Gopalan
Intensive revision of electoral
rolls was under taken in all the four
constituencies simultaneoulsly with
1 January 1979 as tbe qualifying date.
After the final publication of the
revised electoral rol ls in these consti-
tuencies on 5 March, 1979, the Commission
fixed the following poll programme fojt
the four bye-elections s~
1. issue of noti-fication;
2. las t date formaking nominations;
3. date of scrutinyof nominations;
ht last date forwithdrawal of candi-datures;
5, date of poll, i fnecessary; and
6» date of completionof election«
16 Jlpril, 1979(Manday)
23 Jipril, 1979(Monday)
2k April, 1979(Tuesday)
26 Jlpril, 1979(Thursday)
17 May, 1979(Thursday)
21 May, 1979(Monday)
In 2-Kasargod Constituency, besides
three Independents, there were 3 other
candidates belonging one each to Indian
National Congress (I) , Muslim League
and Muslim League (opposition), Tae
poll was peaceful without any untovard
incident. A total of 61,335 (76.62$)
voters out of an electorate of 80,108
exercised their franchise in the bye-
election. Ibis was in contrast to the
General Election 1977 when 57, M6 voters
out of the electorate of 72,6*4-3 cast
their ballot. As against 3,^52 rejected
votes in the General ELection 1977, only
865 votes were found invalid in the bye-
election 1979. Shri B.M. Abdul Rahiman
belonging to Muslim League (Opposition)
who secured 22f*+i9 votes defeated his
nearest rival Sh. CT./ihmad Ali of Muslim
League by a margin of 1,110 votes.
Ihe following Table gives a com-
parative account of the performance of
candidates in the General ELection to
Kerala Legislative Assembly 1977 and the
bye-election 1979.
T A
Assembly Election1977
Ldate Barty
A.Ibrahim MOL
"\foteslolled
29 ,^2
B
1
L E
Bye-election1979
Candidate Partfcr
. B.M.Abdul HLORahiman ' . , •
TfotesIblled
22,*fi9
.M.Abdul MLORahiman
.A.Abdulla INDMallath
-V.Ballu INDNayya
22,619 2.C.T./»hmed Ali MUL 21,269
1,201 3 .
if.
5.
I.Rama Rai
Sharraa 3a atKnandxge
C.J.GeorgeD'silva
INC(I)
IND
IND
10,
?,971
6.Abdulla Mallath IND 176
In 12- Tellicherry Assembly Consti-
tuency, there were three contesting candi-
dates of whom one was Independent and the
other two belonged to Communist Party of
India and Communist Partjr of 3hdia(Marxist)r
TThe electorate in the constituency which
was 90,599 in the General ELection 1977
rose to 92,168 in the bye-election. Ib l l
was concluded peacefully* A to ta l of
7htk66 voters exercised their franchise
in the bye-election as against 7 0 , 2 ^
in the General ELection, The rejected
votes were less this time - h67 as against
1,883 in 1977. Shri M.V. Rajagopalan of
Communist Party of India (Marxist) who
polled hk,k5$ votes defeated his nearest
r iva l ' 3h» K, Sreedharan of Communist Party
of India by a margin of 20,6^8 votes, % ^
"\fotes polled by the candidates in ;
the General ELection 1977 as well as the
bye-election 1979 are given in the Table
below.
T A
Assembly ELection1977
mdidate
PatiyaraGopalan
Mammootty
Ikrty
CPM
CPI
VotesIblled
38,^19
2 9 , 9 ^
B L
1.
2.
3.
In 105-
Bye-ELection1979
Candidate Party
M.
K,
A.
.V*Hajagopalan CPM
, Sreedharan CPI
.P.Shanmugadas IND
VotesIblled
23,799
5,276
Thlruvalla Assembly Cbnsti-
tuency there were as many as 6 contesting
candidates in the fray. Of these one
candidate each was fielded by Janata Party,
Congress ( I ) , Kerala Congress and Kerala
Congress (Pi l la i Group)* Tae remaining
two were Independents. The electorate
of the constituency which was 76,6^2 in
the General Election 1977 rose to 80,8^-9
in the bye-election. A total of 6^,076
voters exercised their franchise in the
bye-election as against 60,372 in the
i 1+6 :
General Election. Tne rejected votes were far
less this time - 379 as against 2,117 in the 1977
election. Sh. P.C.Thomas of Janata Party defeated
his nearest rival Sh. John Jacob Vallakalil of
Kerala Congress by a margin of 5>689 votes* A
comparative account of the performance of the
candidates in the General Election and the bye-
election is given below I-
Assembly Election1977
an didate
E.John Jacob
John JacobVallakalil
tengal R.K.Mathew
K.KarunakaraPillai
Samuel Cherian
Mathai Chako
Party
KEC
KCP
DTD
DID
DID
DTD
VotesPolled
31,5^8
2k, 573
1,299
ho?
225
203
T A B L E
Bye- Election1979
Candidate
1, P.C.Thomas
2. John JacobVal laka l i l
3 . A.T.Samuel
if.T.V.R.Mani
5.Arackal Swami-Nathan
6. P.M.Mathai
Party
JNP
KEC
INC(I)
IND
KCP
11©
IfctesPolled
30,552
2*f,863
7,^90
680
251
2^K)
.find finally in il+O- j^rassala
Assembly Constituency there were six
contesting candidates. The Communist
Party of India (Marxist), Indian National
Congress and Indian National Congress (I)
put up one candidate each. The rest
were Independents. Ihe electorate in the
Constituency registered an increase from
85,*f57 in the General ELection 1977 to
95,397 in :the bye-election. 73,39l+ voters
cast their ballot in the bye-election as
against 63,^60 in the General Election.
The number of rejected votes was reduced
from 3,70^ in the General ELection to 781 •
in the bye-election. M. Sathyanesan of
Communist Barty of India (Marxist) won
the bye-election defeating his nearest
rival Sundaran Nadar of Congress (I) by a
margin of 7,329 votes. A comparative
account of the performance of the candi-
dates in the General ELection and bye-
election is given below:-
1*8
Assemblylidate
mju KrishnanNadar
ithyanesan
ElectionParty
ING :
CPM ;
Ibenljat PurshotfcanNair IND
irassala Bala-Irishna Nair
Hiaskaran
IND
IND
T A
1977TfotesJblled
21,081*
3,107
661
519
B L B
^ye-electionCandidate
1.M. Satnyanesan
2. Sundaran Nadar
3.P.C.Nadar
^•.KurichivilaSrcedharan
5.K.N.SundersanThampi
6.N.K.Sree Kumar
1979Party
CPM
ING(I)
INC
IND
IND
IND
VotesPolled
27,986
20,657
19,068
3,9^7
780'
175
yxcmcim
At present, there are 2 vacancies in
the Council of States, k vacancies in the
House of the People, 16 vacancies in the
various Legislative Assemblies/Metropolitan
Council and 60 vacancies in the Legislative
Councils.
The following Table gives a State/
Union Territory-v/ise break-up of the number,
and date of vacancy, the reason thereof and
the action initiated for filling them.
I 50 i
T A B L E
Vacancies in the Council of States, House of the IteopleLegislative JLsserablies and Legislative Councils as on
. 20.5.79 _
State/ UnionTerritory
Vacancy Constituency VacancyCause Date
Beason for pending/action taken.
Vacancy
1. Bihar
I.Karnataka
2. Tamil Nadu
1.lSy members
2. ^r Members
20-Chikraagalur
1-Madras North
COUNCIL OF STATES
Death 8,2.79
Death 2.6.1979
HOUSE OF 1KB PEPPLB
Bcpulsion 19.12.78
Death 7.^.79
The poll is scheduled to beheld on 16.7.79
-do-
In view of the two electionpetitions which are pendingbefore the High Court of Kar-nataka, the ELection Commissionhas decided to defer the holdinof bye-election for the time~being. Ifevision of electoralrolls is in progress. Date offinal publication is 8.8.1979.
Revision of electoral rolls isin progress. The final publi-cation is on 10.10.79.
6 ' r
1. 2. k. 6.
, An sara
.Jir.dhra Pradesh
8- Mangaldai
1 15-Guntur
Death 28,3.79 Revision of electoral rolls is inprogress and these are to be finally
• •' published orf ;1*r.8.79.
Death 5*6.79 The programme for the rev i s ion ofrol l ' s i s awaited from CEO, /mdhraPradesh.
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY/METROPOLITAN COUNCIL
.Andhra Pradesh 2 197-Gadwal26-Pendurthi
.Gujarat
.Bihar
«Karnataka
1^-9-Raopura56-Ghogho
22-Ehore(SC)193-Asthawan
DeathDeath
DeathDeath
DeathDeath
Death
Resig-nation
17.11.78) The e l e c t o r a l r o l l s have been20.12.78) f i n a l l y published on 2.3.79 and
k.k,79 respectively. Proposalsof programme for holding the bye-election are awaited from ChiefElectoral Officer,
1.3.79 ) Bye-election has been deferred in1^.5.79) view of pending General Election.
19*3.79) Revision of electoral rolls is29.3.79) in progress and will be finally
published on 8.10.79
31.12.78 Electoral rolls which are underrevision, will be finally publishedon 28.7.79,
6.3.79 Revision of electoral rolls is inprogress and will be finallypublished on 28.9.79.
1. 2 . k. 5. 6.
Kerala 1 90-Kottayan
Madhya Pradesh 1 27^-In do re V
SLkkim
Delhi
Manipur
Casual
ELhar
1
1
k
Vacancies
2
Soreong
15-Ashok Nagar
8-Lamlai )17-*Lara sang )35-Khangabok )37-Kakching )
1-Saran LocalAuthorit ies
1-Patna LocalAuthori t ies
Death
Expulsion 8.9.78
Eeath
Death
21.2.79
8.10.78
Itesignation k,k.79
Bevision of electoral ro l l s i s inprogress. The rol ls will be finallypublished on 25.6.79.
ELectoral ro l l s published on 3.3.79.The out come of petit ion of ShriSuresh Seth i s awaited.
Eye-election has been deferred inview of the pending general election,
The noil i s scheduled, to be held on16.9*.79.
In view of the pending GeneralELection, the bye-elections havebeen deferred.
COIMCTLS
Death
Death
9.8.78) The Commission is waiting for the re-constitution of Panchayat Simitis &Zilla Parishads by 31st Aughst 79 failingwhich i t will itself issue notificationfor holding the bye-elections.
53
1. 2. 3. k. 6.
Jajnrnu & Kashmir
Uttar Pradesh
Kashmir PanchayatConstituency
1 Jaunpur localAuthorit ies
%c,ancies, due to retirement
o9ndhra Pradesh 22 2-Krishna Local Auth.2~Guntur Local Auth.2-Hyderabad Local Auth,2~M3hboobnagar L.A.1-M3dak Local Auth,1-Khammam Local Auth.1-Nellore Local Auth.1-Prakasam Local Auth.2-Jhst Godavari L.A.2-Wbst Godavari L.A.2-Chittor local Auth.2-Kurnool Local Auth.1-Aiantapur Local A.1-Cuddapah Local Auth.
Resignation 9*7*77
ELected toLegislativeAssembly.
23.6.77
Be t i red . 1.7.76
The Commission has asked theState Government to constitutethe electoral college so thatthe vacancy may be f i l led up by31 August, 79.
Ihe Commission hss decided notto hold the bye-election in viewof the biennial election in 1980.
Be constitution of local bodiesi s awaited.
1. k. 6.
2»
3.BLbar
& Kashmir 1
11
if.Karnafaka
Jainmu Local Auth. Bs t i r ed 19.7.69
VPatna Local Auth. )1-Ehodpur Local A. )1-Saran Local A. )t-Champaran Local A. )VMuzaffar-pur L.A. ) IfetiredVDarbhanga Local A. )1~Mbnghyr Local Auth. )1-Burne% Local Auth, )1-Santhal Parganas L.A.)"1-Hazaribagh L. Auth. )1-Ehanbad Local Auth. )
1-Mysore-Cura-Kodagu L.A.V Char wad Local Auth. )ihMandya Local Auth. )1-Hasan Local Auth. )1~B3lgaum Local Auth. )•^-H-japur local Auth. )f-Dakshina Kanara )
Local Auth. )
6.5.78
Ife t i r e d 1.7.78
He constitution of localbodies is awaited.
Ife constitution of localbodies is awaited.
Ite constitution of localbodies is awaited.
1. 2. 2.
Tamil Nadu 15 1-Madras Local Auth.1-Chinglepur Local Auth.Z~ Cbimbatore-Nilgir i s
Local Auth.2-»Madurai Local Auth.2-Tirunelveli ^DCal Auth.2-North Arcot Local Auth.2-3Duth Arcot Local Auth,2-Tiruchirapal ly Pudukk-
o t t a i Local Auth.1-Kanyakumari Local Auth.
J))
Ite tired
Retired 21.^.78
Iteconstitution of localbodies is awaited.
ELection to Local bodiesare likely to be completedby the end of Xtne, 1979*
: 56 i
C H A P T E R - VII
COMMISSION'S VIEWS ON ELECTORAL RESOBMS
(August to December, 1978 -Ser ies - I I I )
I t has been decided to s e r i a l i s e in the
Documentation, the Commissionrs views on various
aspectstffof e l e c t o r a l reforms t h a t appeared in the
Press from time to time. 3he f i r s t two i n s t a l -
ments of the ser ies covering the period June to
December 1977 and January to July 1978 have
already appeared in the issues of March and
Apri l , 1979, r e spec t ive ly .
Chapter covers Commission's views
on the subject such as (i)No excess police In
Chitoagaluri (iOTfotera* G6i»cil ( l i i ) I d e n t i t y
Cards for vo te r s ( iv) Proposal to meet po l l
expenses of candidates; (v) f i l l i n g 50 percent
sea ts in Parliament and State l eg i s l a tu r e s by
nomination (vi )separate pol ice force during p o l l ;
and (v i i )Pres ident ru le on po l l - eve . Extrac ts ,
in fu l l , of Press repor t s regarding these aspects
of e l ec to r a l administrat ion have been reproduced
in tbe following pages.
POLL CHIEF WANTS NO SXCESS EOLICBIN CHIKMAGALUR
Bangalore, October 21 .
Chief j&ection Commissioner
S.L. Shakdher sa id here today t h a t he haO.
suggested to Inspector-General of Pol ice «3.bort
Manoraj not to deploy excessive po l ice force i n
t h e Chikmagalur par l iamentary const i tuency.
Adequate law and order arrangements
meant the presence of the po l i ce force should
not be v i s i b l e , he added.
Mr.Shakdher was speaking to newsmen
on the law and order arrangements made i n the
Chikmagalur cons t i tuency.
Asked about the reported presence of
excessive po l i ce force i n some areas of the
const i tuency and a sense ©f fear overtaking
t h e e l e c t o r a t e , Mr.Shakdher said he had not
received :any information about such an
excessive po l ice force . However, he had
suggested to t h e IGp not to deploy-view of
complaints by newsmen he sa id he would again
have a t a l k with IGp.
Aiu adequate force meant t h a t the
po l ice should be able to reach any t rouble
spot without l o s s of t ime, he sa id .
Mr4 Shakdhir said a by-e lec t ion
would normally cost Rs, four lakhs and no
e x t r a cos t would be involved in the Chik-
magalur e l e c t i o n ,
Vhen asked whether he had received
any complaint from Mrs. Ind i ra Gandhi t h a t
the Janata Party might indulge in v io lence ,
the ELection Commissioner said he had no t .
B> the be s t of the information he had,
"the e l ec t ion w i l l go on smoothly". The
people of Karnataka were known to be peace-
lov ing . There was no need for any spec ia l
arrangements,
IMPERSONATION
Mr. Shakdho: said no pecu l ia r s igni*
ficance need be a t tached to the bye -e le -
c t ion in Chikmagalur.
nALl we are concerned with is to
make adequate arrangements for a fair
and free election".
He assured newsmen that there could
not be any abuse of official machinery.
There could be no rigging of poll if poli-
t ical parties and contestants were vigilant
and alert,
Mr. Shakdh©? said he received a
complaint from Mr. G. Bangaswamy (Ind) aboutof
a lot^money being used in campaigning, but
he could not substantiate his allegation.
The Election Commission could not take
action i f allegations were not substantiated*
Be also said that political parties
could help a great deal in detecting imper-
sonation. Impersonation entailed imprison-
ment, he warned.
Mr. Shakdh«»." said that judicial officers,
who were asked to be observers in the by-
election had declined to do so, Eight
senior State officers would be observers
on behalf of the SLection Commission during
the election. The Chief "Electoral Officer
came directly under him and no one else
(other than him) could issue any orders*
Deputy Commissioner was acting as the
Returning Officer and he should not only be
impartial but also appear to be impartial.
Asked Whether i t was correct on the
part of Returning Officer K.P- Pandey to
offer a cup of coffee when Mrs. Gandhi turned
up at his office to file her nomination,
the ELection Commissioner said i t would have
been better i f he had not done so. Tfoung
Officers did commit such mistakes.
Mr, Sampathkumaran, Chief Electoral
Officer, intervened to say that not only
Mrs. Gandhi but other Independent candidates
who filed their nominations, were also
offered tea.
"Hs (It-, Eandey) could have offered
t e a in h i s house ." Mr, Shakdher said . They
also should not rush to make a statement,
he added.
Mr. Shakdher referred to the adminis-
t r a t i v e problems caused by the l a r g e s t number
(28) of contes tan ts and the lengthy b a l l o t
paper t ha t had to be prepared.
This i s the b igges t and l e n g t h i e s t
b a l l o t paper pr in ted so f a r . " he said showing
i t to newsmen.
The b a l l o t paper in which the 28 names
are pr in ted in Kannada a lphabet ica l order in
two rows has Mrs. Gandhi's name in the f i f th
row and *fr. Veerendra P a t i l ' s name i s 2*fth
or tenth in the second row. There was a
demonstration of how i t was to be folded.
"DECCAN HERALD, BANGALORE, 22 OCTOBER 1978rt
- * •«**': i
SHAKDHER CALLS FDR VOTERS* COUNCIL
Ootacamund, Oct. 2h (UNI)-
Chief ELection Commissioner S.L.
Shakdher today ca l led for the se t t i ng up
a non -po l i t i c a l impar t ia l v o t e r s ' council
for each const i tuency to function as a
'Vatchdog" body and help the e l e c t o r a l
machinery in the o rde r ly conduct of e l e -
ctions.
Inaugurating a three-day conference
of Chief Electoral Officers of States, he
said members of the Council should be drawn
from each village or area covered by a part
of the electoral roll or ward or street.
The constituency's Iteturning Officer*
the Chairman.
This would go a long way in the
conduct of free and f a i r e l e c t i o n s , he sa id .
Mr. Shakdher said the Council might
also serve as a common platform for p o l i t i c a l
p a r t i e s for e l ec t i on campaigns and meetings
- 63 -
and discourage wasteful expenditure on
items like big posters. Itae Council
could co-operate with enumerators and
electoral registration officers in revis-
ing electoral rol ls .
He said cooperation from political
parties in this regard was far from satis-
factory.
Mir. Shakdher said if the Constitution
(forty-fourth) .Amendment Bill was passed,
the life of the Lok Sabha would be reduced
from six years to five and elections would
be due early in 1982. Tae time had, there-
fore, come to chalk out a well considered
programme for intensive revision of the
electoral rolls in the country without
resorting to a' I'orash.1 programme which could
not be satisfactory.
He said the satisfactory method would
be to undertake an intensive revision in the
entire country simultaneously in 198i.with
October 1, 1981, as the qualifying date.
' *
He disfavoured staggering the revision
work over a year period, covering one-
tftird of the constituencies in each State
each yeari
In SLkkira, where elections are
likely to be held early next year, the
rolls had already been ordered to be
revised with reference to Jan. 1,1979» as
the qualifying date* In Gujarat, the •«
rolls would be revised with reference to -
Jam 1, 1980$ as the qualifying date as
elections to the Assembly are likely to be
beld in mid- 1980*
Mr. Shakdher said the active co-
operation of the census authorities might
be sought since the 1$81 census would
more or less coincide with the programme
of intensive revision of electoral rolls .
PANCHAYATI RAJ
He said i t was proposed to have
some sor t of re v i s ionary j u r i s d i c t i o n for
the Election Commission to • o r r e c t a r b i -
* • 7.:
trary decisions of officials resulting
in the rejection of the claims for in«
elusion in the election register of
persons who are eligible or the inclusion
of ineligible persons.
Commenting on the report of the
Ashoka Mehta Committee on Panchayati Raj
institutions, he said the Commission would
have to be clothed with the powers of
superintendence, direction and control of
the preparation of electoral rolls and the
conduct of elections of Eanchayati Raj
institutions. The Chief Electoral Officers
should have powers over these matters as
in the case of election to Parliament and
the State legislatures.
Be told the Chief ELectoral Officers
that early action should be taken to bring
all elections in their States under their
control and their department.
Mr. Shakdher deplored that the
chronic problem of bodth capturing by
- 46 -
force, intimidation and open riot was being
faced in a few States at every general elec-
tion.* "It is really a blot on our other-
wise efficient and peaceful election system,11
he said. I t was, therefore, worthwhile from
now onwards to identify the likely "trouble
spots" in each State and draw up measures
to eliminate the chances of intimidation of
voters, rigging of elections and boothr -
capturing.
He suggested that District Magistrates
direct al l those who possessed firearms to
deposit them with the appropriate authoti-
ties for the duration of the elections.
Another step that could be taken was rounding
up of confirmed goonda elements before the
elections so that the chances of trouble
were greatly reduced.
Due caution was, howevera needed 7 \st
the administration should be accused o£l&y the
Opposition parties being made the target of
i t s cleaning operation to further the election
prospects of the ruling party.
- 67 -
ELECTION COSTS
Tamil Nadu Itood Minister G.R. Edmund,
who i s also in charge of elect ions, said
the conference should give some thought to
the increasing cost of e lect ions . Po l i t i -
cal par t ies with money had an unfair advan-
tage over others without i t . He said i t
might be worthwhile to find a "practical
way" to ensure that a l l the po l i t i ca l
pa r t i e s had an equal opportunity to put
the i r programmes before the people.
He pleaded for voting by proportional
representation. He said even though there
were pract ical d i f f icu l t ies in following this
system, serious thought should be given to
i t in view of the mult ipl ic i ty of po l i t i ca l
par t i es in India. ALready the system was
being followed in the Rajya Sabha and Legist •
la t ive Council e lect ions .
"THE HINDUSTAN TIMES. NEW DELHI,25 OCTOBER, 1 9 7 8 "
1 ••-
- 48 -
IDENTITY CARDS FOR VOTERS FAVOURED
Ootacaumund, Oct. 25 (INI)-
The Conference of Chief Electoral
Officers today favoured the system of
issuing identity cards to voters in the
border states of the north-eastern region
to prevent foreign nationals enrolling
themselves as electors in India.
The conference on the second day,
discussed the problem of influx of foreign
nationals, especially in the north-eastern
region where i t has assumed alarming pro-
portions.
I t noted that in July 1975 a large
number of foreign nationals had been crossing
over to India unauthori sedly from neighbouring
countries, many of them reportedly getting
themselves enrolled in electoral rolls of
various constituencies in the border states.
The Home Ministry then issued a
circular to the state Governments for taking
- 69 -
immediate action to get the electoral rolls
checked by the CID to locate names of such
.foreign nationals.
Subsequently, similar reports, were
received from other states like Assam and
Manipur,
The ELection Commission issued fur-
ther instructions in 1976 to check the
registration of foreign nationals in the
electoral rol ls . The procedure prescribed
by the Home Ministry and the Commission
proved unsatisfactory since the CID got
very l i t t l e time to check up the names in
electoral rolls*
The Chief Electoral Officer of
Assam suggested that a permanent house l i s t
be prepared to help the electoral registra-
tion authorities to distinguish Indian citi-
zens from foreigners*
Msghalaya Chief Electoral Officer
said there should be a permanent agency for
- 7 0 -
preparation of electoral rolls to help
check the registration of foreign nationals.
The Chief ELection Cbmiiiissioner,
Mr. S»L» Shakdher, who presided, said the
Home Ministry was considering the issue.
Till a decision was taken, the existing
procedure of enumeration of electoral rolls
with special reference to migrants from
neighbouring countries should continue, he
said.
Mr. Shakdher said issue of identity
cards was the only effective method to e l i -
minate inclusion of the foreign nationals
in the rolls .
The view was shared by the Chief
ELectoral Officers.
After detailed discussion, i t was
decided to have intensive revision of
electoral rolls in 1981 with the qualifying
date as October 1, 1981, if possible with
- 1 - - . .- 71 -
a supplementary rol l with the qualifying
date as January 1, 1982,
During the discussion on the pattern
of organisation for revision of rolls, Mr.
Shakdher, suggested that a committee be
constituted with a specified number of
Chief Electoral Officers and representatives
of the Election Commission to go into the
question and suggests the structural orga-
nisation.
Ihe terms of reference of the commi-
ttee and i t s composition will be announced
later .
The scheme of issuing identity cards
was generally welcomed by the Chief ELec-
toral Officers. But some expressed the
fear that the cost involved would be high.
Mr. Shakdher said the scheme was
being experimented in SLkkim. If the
;••':: • .*~v
r e s u l t s were encouraging, i t «ould be
consider&d. Ee said each laminated
photograph i d e n t i t y cards cost only Rs.2
and i f they were produced on a l a rge scale
the cost could fur ther be reduced.
"NATIONAL HERALD, NEW DELHI,26 OCTOBER, 1978.
- " ' • . .
PROPOSAL TO MEET POLL EXPENSES OFCANDIDATES
Ootacamund, Oct 26 (PTI)
The Election Commission i s •onsider ing
a proposal to finance the e lec t ion expenses
of candidates on ce r t a in condit ions so as to
curb the operat ion of "private money" in
elections.
Disclosing this, Mr. S.L.ShaHiher,
Chief Election Cbraniissioner told newsmen here
today that this proposal, i f accepted by the
Government* would ensure free and fair ele-
ctions*
J4r. Shakdher,;*\k.;:> "presided over a con-
ference of Chief Electoral Officers, which
concluded i t s three-day session here today,
said the ELection Commission was also trying
to stipulate certain restrictions on inde-
pendent candidates from contesting elections.
Mr. Shakdher said the Commission
would appoint committees to go tinto the
structural organisation of the election
in States. Their terms would be decided
later .
J5br purposes of revision of ele-
ctoral rolls the qualifying dates for the
next general elections to the Lok Sabha
would be 1 October, 1981 with a further
provision for supplemental rolls to be
prepared with reference to the qualifying
dates of 1 January, 1982 with a view to
enabling large number of voters to vote.
Mr, Shakdher said the system of
identity cards with photographs being
tried for the 1979 election in Sikkim
would be extended to other parts of the
country, depending upon the success of
the experiment. This would as far as
possible, help avoid impersonation and
voting by foreign nationals, besides
doing away with the indelible ink.
Mr. Shakdher said no complaints
would be entertained with regard to the
inclusion of names in the electoral ro l l s
after a fixed and specified date* This
would prevent non-genuine voters from
making their applications after the spe-
cified date, he said.
The system of appointing observers
for election from th i s year had been appre*
elated by po l i t i ca l par t ies and i t fead also
benefited the Election Commission. These
observer s, he said| who would be the
eiici ea rs" of the commission, were doing
thei r work efficiently*
2here are eight observers in the
Chikfflagalur parliamentary constituency,
there the bye-election would be held onJ> November>
- 7 6 -
Asked whether he would v i s i t
Chikmagaljir parliamentary constituency
Mr. Shakdher said the comnrission regarded
such elections were a matter of routine
who ever be the candidate,
"PATRIOT, NEW DELHI, 27 OCTOBER 1978"
-77 -
POLL BODY CHIEF FOR 50 pEBCHCC SE&ES BYS C S H 0 H
Kbzhikode, October 2 9 ( P T I ) J
The Chief ELection Commissioner,
Mr. S.L. Shakdher, has suggested direct
election of $0 per cent of members to
Parliament and state legis la tares and
nomination of the remaining $0 per cent
on the basics of the votes polled by diff-
erent par t ies to make the functioning of
democracy more meaningful in the country.
.Addressing members of the
here yesterday, Mr. Shakdher said
the ELection Commission had also suggested
that the government bear the election
expenses to check the part played by p r i -
vate money in elections and also to bring
the functioning of po l i t i ca l par t ies under
the law of Parliament.
"THE TIMES OF INDIA,; NEW DELHI,30 OCTOBER, 1978
SEPARATE POLICE K)RCE DURING POLLRULED OUT
MADRAS, Nov. 11 (UNI)-
The Chief Election Gornraissioner, Mr.
S*L. Shakdher, today ruled out a suggestion
for creat ing a separate pol ice force under
the Election Commission for handling law
and order dtiring the e l e c t i o n s .
Talking to newsmen, he said the
present set-up under which the State Govern-
ments handled the law and order s i tua t ion
was the bes t arrangement. He re fe r red to
the Chikmagalur parl iamentary by-elect ion
and said tha t when he wanted the C.R.P. to
be deployed i t was moved in two hours .
Moreover, under the Const i tut ion, the
Election Commission had the powers to employ
any State o f f i c i a l for the conduct of p o l l
work. Asked whether a separate pol ice force
would hot help since a State Government
cjould use the pol ice . p o l i t i c a l l y , Mr. Shakdher
' - 7* -
said tha t in such cases the Election Commi-
ssion could take appropriate action against
e r r i ng o f f i c i a l s . He ci ted a case in Kashmir
l a s t year when he had to suspend an o f f i c i a l
who behaved with a p o l i t i c a l b i a s .
Mr. Shakdher said the Chikmagalur by-
e l ec t ion had been peaceful and no pa r t i cu la r
pa r ty had made any complaint about i r r e g u l a r i t y .
.Answering another question, he said he
had made arrangements for a smooth and peace-
ful conduct of the parliamentary by-elect ion
a t Samastipur.
LOCAL BODIES POLL
Asked about the suggestion tha t e l ec t ions
to loca l bodies should also come under the
purview of the Election Commission, he said
he had been holding such a view for a long
time now. Besides, the Asoka Mehta panel on
panchayat administrat ion had also recommended
tba t panchayat elections should be conducted
by an independent authority such as the ELe-
ction Commission, He said the Oentre has
asked for his comments on they recommendation
and he had commended i t . I t was now up to
the Centre and the State Government had to
consider the recommendation and take a de-
cision,
"THE TRIBUNE, CHANDIGARH, 12 NOVEMBER 1 9 7 8 . "
- 81 -
PRESIDENT RULE ON POLL- EVE MOOTED
Eangalore, Nov. 15.
Chief Election Commissioner S#L.
Shakdher today advocated imposition of
President's rule in the States on the eve
of elections to ensure a free and fair
election and an equal opportunity for the
contending parties*
Addressing a parliamentary seminar
here, Mr. Staakdher said that he had al-
ready made a suggestion to the Government
in this regard as part of election reforms.
This would also ensure smooth functioning
of the election machinery*
3h the event of President's rule,
the ministers of the outgoing Government
contesting the election and other candidates
would have equal chances and the complaints
of misuse of official machinery would not
be there.
- 8 2 -
The police would also be free to do
their duties he pointed out.
Mir. Shakdher made a strong plea for
enactment of legislation by Parliament to
oversee the proper functioning of various
political parties in the country*
Mr. Shakdher said a statement of
account for expenditure and receipt of
every rupee should be maintained by the
political parties and i t should be subjected
to periodical auditing. He said the
political parties should also be made to
submit a report of their functioning every
year to Parliament.
Bcpressing dissatisfaction over the
functioning of the political parties, he
said this was an important lacuna in the
democratic functioning system.
Mr. Shakdher <3id not approve of the
political parties functioning in secrecy.
Though the political parties had their
own constitution, they hardly followed
them. Nobody knew how many meetings were
held by them and their way of functioning*
In this connection, he Bald that
when the question of allotment of symbol
came up before the Commission fox the two
Congress Parties, he found they were not
well-informed of their own Constitution.
He said that Parliament should lay
down the law to ensure democratic funct-
ioning of pol i t ica l par t ies . This was
one of the suggestions made by the Chief
Election Commissioner to Government to
bring about electoral reforms.
REVISION OF ROLLS.
He said that he had suggested that
the law should be amended for revision
of electoral rol ls four times in a year
in January, .April, July and October- to
make them up-to-date.
Be also wanted that $0 per cent
of the seats in Parliament and State
legislatures should be filled by candi-
dates through the present direct repre-
sentation and the remaining $0 per cent
on the basis of percentage of votes
secured by the political parties.
Mr. Shakdher also emphasised the
neeit for reducing the age limit for
voting from-21 to 18 and ensure proper
representation of the people aspiring forin
new development s / t h e country* UNI.
"DSCCAN CHNONICLB, SECUNDERABAD,16 NOVEMBER, 1978 ."
C H A P T E R - V I I I
PARLIAMENT QUESTIONS ON ELECTIONS ANDELECTORAL RE5DRMS AND THEIR ANSWERS.
Serialisation of Parliament
Questions on various aspects of elections
and electoral reforms and their answers on
the floor of both the Houses of Parliament
during the Budget Jfession which was taken
up with the issue of March, 1979 wi l l be
continued in the current issue also.
The Chapter includes the Parl ia-
ment Question and i t s answer in ful l , for
the month of April, 1979.
- 86 -
RAJYA SAHBA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.188
Streamlining the elect ion machinery.
SHRI SANTO SH KUMAR SAHU i
Will the .Minister of LAW, JUSTICE
AND COMPANY AFFAIRS be pleased to s t a t e ;
(a) Whether there i s any proposalunder Government's consideration to s t r e -amline the electic.:vi -.^chinery in variousStates and Union Te r r i t o r i e s ; and
(b) i f so, what are the de ta i l sthere.of ? */
ANSWER ( 30TH APRIL, 1979 )
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OFHOME AFFAIRS (P), LAW JUSTICE AND- COMPANYAFFAIRS <
(SHRI S.D.BATIL) * /
(a) & Cb) -There' i s nd 'spectfie •proposal
under the Government1 s consi-
deration to streamline the e,le-
ction ihachihery in various States
•-"87 -
and Ihion Territories. Die Election
Commission has, however, constituted
a committee to study in depth the
existing set-up of election machinery
in various States and Ihion Territories,
at different levels i . e . State,District
Taluk/Tehsil/BLock for the preparation and
revision of electoral rolls and the
conduct of elections and matters inci-
dental thereto, and to recommend a
model set-up of the election machinery
for each such level. The Committee is
constituted as follows s-
Shri R» Samp athaKum ar an,Chief ELectoral OfficerKarnataka ' . . . . . . Chairman
Shri R.K.Pandey,Chief Electoral Officer,Madhya Pradesh . . . . ..Member
Shri J.H.Bhattacharjya,Chief ELectoral Officer,Tripura. . . . . . . Msmber
- 8 8 ~
Shri H^S.Dubey,Chief Electoral Offlder,Himachal Pradesh .......Member
Shri S.N.Sinha, JointChief Electoral OfficerBihar .Member
ShriJbint C^i^f Mectoral Officer,Uitar J^radesh . . . . . . Member
Shri K.Ganesan, IhderSecretary (LegauL)ELectton Cbmmission ofIhdia . . . . . . ffember
; : : ? Sedretary,
may associate any other
£ tMy $hinfc %t nece ssary so to do
.rl the in teres t at the -work of the Cbmiirittee,
'"
- S9 -
ELECTIONS
THE BRITISH GENBfiAL ELECTION
THE ftRP M4J» 1979
Tne former Bri t ish Jfcime Minister
having l o s t the confidence of the House
of Qbmacma by j u s t one vote, decided to
go to the people and accordingly advised
the Bri t i sh Queen, who dissolved the House
«f Cbramons on the ?th i^>rll, 1979. Gene-
r a l e lect ion t© e l e c t 635 members to the
House of Common a was held on the 3rd May,
1979.
The l a s t general e lec t ion took place
in October 197^# The s t a t e of the p a r t i e s
in the House of Commons a t d i sso lu t ion was
as follows* labour 30f>» Conservative 280,
IlTier*! i^iSoott ish National 11, Official
Vntonlst (Northern I re land) 6, R a i d Cymru
(Welsh Na t iona l i s t ) 3» Independent Ulster
Unionist 3f Scottish Labour 2, Democratic
- 90 -
Unionist (Northern Ireland) 1, Indepen-
dent (Northern Ireland) 1, and Sooial
Democratic and Labour (Northern Ireland)
1. Ihere were four seats vacant, and the
Speaker and his three deputies held the
remaining four seats.
M.Ps eaaee to hold their posts as
soon as Parliament i s dissolved, but the
Government continues in office until the
election results is known.
The United Kingdom's Parliamentary-
system gives the nation regular opportunities,
in free and secret ballots at elections,
to vote for the government of i t s choice.
A general election for all $35 seats in
the House of Commons must take place at
least' every five years, but Parliament may
be, and often i s , dissolved by the Queen,
acting on the Prime Minister's advice,
before the end of the full legal term.
In each of the 635 constituencies
into which the country i s divided for voting
purposes people choose between rival
dates who generally represent political
parties of different views* Ibe candidate
polling the aost votes «• an absolute roajo*
rlty i f not needed T i s elect ad as a
of the Ho«ae of Cbarsons (an MP)f
The l^der of a party vhioh Vint ail
rlty of scats l i appotnte|
trim Hlrtlater by the Queon and chooses •
team of aintstori, inoludlng a Cabinet of
20 or so members* If no party wins an
overall Majority of seats, a minority
nay be forned, or a coalition.,
genoral eonstitutional convention is
that, after the necessary consul tat Ion s» tho
Quo on appoints as Priwo Minister t ie person
v^o appear • be i t Able to qowni nd the support
of a ttfttft* na^oflty in the ftjuss of
?-*
I.
:-, IV »
~ 92 ~
The Second largest party usually
becomes the off ic ia l Opposition with i t s
own leader and i t s own 'Shadow Cabinet,1
whoso members act as spokesmen on the
subjects for which government ministers
have responsibi l i ty. The Leader of the
Opposition receives a salary for the post
as well as a parliamentary salary.
Members of ether par t ies , and any
independent mombers, support the Govern-
nent or the Opposition according to their
views.
:- The 635 constituencies
into which the Ihited Kingdom i s at present
divided are made up as follows? !?16 in
Bhgland, 71 in Scotland, 36 in Walas and
12 in Norther Ireland. These are of two
fihe House of Cbramons (Rsdistribution ofleats) Act 1979 Provides for the raartjerof parliament fry constituencies in NorthernIreland to XJQ Incrsased from 12 to 17» withthe-i fiDundarj Crir.iiission for Northern Irelandhaving pc-wor to vary th is number between aminimum of 16 and a maximum of 18. Since,however, the Boundary Commission was to takesome time to draw up the new constituenciesthe v '• election VQVB • contested onthfe old boundaries, ,
- 93 -
types t borough and county, which are,
broadly speaking urban and rural consti-
tuencies respectively. Their boundaries
are approved by Parliament after periodic
reviews conducted by the four Boundary
Commissions (one each for England, Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland), in the
l igh t of population movements and other
changes. The present boundaries were
approved by parliament in the autumn of
1970: the general elections in 197*+ were
the f i r s t to be fought on the revised
arrangement.
In making recommendations, the Ebun-
dary Commission, while taking account of
local government boundaries, must aiin to
achieve constituency electorates, as near
as practicable to the electoral quota, a
figure obtained by dividing the to ta l
electorate of that paft of the Uiited
Kingdom (Sigland, Wales, Scotland or Nor-
thern Ireland) by the number of consti-
tuencies in li> when the review was begun.
The number of parliamentary electors
on the 1978 electoral register was almost
if 1.2 million (3*+.3 million in Bigland, 2.1
Million in Wales, 3.8 million in Scotland
and 1 million in Northern Ireland). The
average number of electors for each consti-
tuency was 66, 3*+ in Bigland, 57,362 i n
Wales, 53,61+9 in Scotland, and 86,1*f2 in
No re them Ireland.
The ELecto'-ata J- British subjects and
citizens cf the Irish Republic resident in
the Ihited IlLigdora are entitled to vote at
the election provided that they are 18 years
old and not legally disqualified from voting.
The following are not entitled to vote i
peers who are members of the House of lords;
aliens; convicted offenders detained in
custody in pursuance of sentence and anyone
found guilty within the last five years of
corrupt or illegal practices in connection
with an ele-vlirn, Commonwealth citizens
• / . '
ape British subjects and, If otherwise
eligible, are entitled to be registered
and to vote.
To be eligible to vote in a parti-
cular constituency an elector must be
registered In the current electoral regis-
ter for that constituency* The electoral
register Is compiled annually by the Elec-
toral Hsg4.stration Officers of local autho-
rit ies (in Northern Ireland by the Chief
ELectoral Officer) by means of forms sent
to every household and/or by house-to-house
canvasse«\ She new register comes into
force on 16 Pebruary each year and includes
young people who will reach voting age
during the year, with the date of their
eighteenth birthday listed, Voting is
voluntary; at the last general election in
October 197 , 72,8 per cent of the electorate
voted,
Any man or woman who is a British
subject or a citizen of the Irish Republic who
is no* disqualified from voting and has reached
the age of 21, may stand as a candidate for any
constituency. Undischarged bankrupts, clergymen
of the Church of &igland, Church of Scotland
and Church of Ireland and Boman Catholic Church
are not eligible (but misters of the Jree
Churches and of the Church of Wales are); n«r
are people holding certain other offices (such
as judges, civil servants, members of the armed
forces and a reange of other holders of public
6*ffice, together with members of the legislat-
u r e s of countries outside the Commonwealth)*
Candidates usually represent one
of the main national pelitical parties, but
- 57 -
independents and representatives of smaller
parties and groups also stand. Candidates
of the main parties are generally selected
by the party constituency associations
through a selection committee, although
they usually have to be papproved by the
national party organisation, iTovided
they are on the electoral register, candi-
dates may vote in their constituency,
Candldajjegt- in the May 1979 election,
there were as many as 2,571 candidates.
Of these, the National Pront fielded 3^1
candidates, the largest number after the
three major parties. The Governing Labour
Party fielded 625 candidates, the Conser-
vatives 621 and the Liberals 575, In •
October, 197 - election there were some
22^2 candidates ,an average of three
and four for each constituency.
- 98 -
The BLection Campaign*- The general e lec-
tion campaign take place at both national
and constituency leve ls . Nationally the
main part ies hold daily press conferences
during the campaign, chaired by the leader
or another prominent member of the party;
these receive wide coverage in the Eress
and on radio and television together with
other reporting of the election campaign.
The poll s- Constituencies are divided
into a number of polling d i s t r i c t s , each of
which in normal circumstances, has i t s own
polling s tat ions. The pol l was held on
3rd May 1979. Ihe hours of poll were 07.00
hrs . to 22.00 hrs . The procedure of polling
was the same as we have in India.
The Count t- The votes were counted as soon
as practicable after the pol l .
ELectiqn Ifosifl. 3.8- In the final resul t
which i s given in the Table below, Thatcher's
Conservative Party won a comfortable *+3
seat majority in the Bause of Commons
securing 339 seats out of 635 seats of
House of the Commons.
The following Table gives the com-
parative performances of the various parties
in the las t general Election, October 197^
and the present General Election,May 1979*
October 197^
Earty
. Babour
• Conserva-tive
» Liberal
».. ScottishNational
Tfotessecured
11,1+68,136(39.3$
10, If 28,970135.730
5,31+6.800
839,628
. United 131 star UO7,778UnionistCoalitions
Seatswon
319
276
13
11
10
A B
1.
2.
3 .
k.
5.
L E
May,
Barty
Con servative
Labour
Liberal
ELaid Cymru
1979
Votessecured
1 6^7 7*5^
11 *50Q 'iPlf
K 0 ^ "3 O^"1J(13.1O^)
,5OV259•(1.6^)
(0.5-^)
Sbatswon.
339
268
11
2
2
-4. * •«
1ft
1 . 2. 3. 5. 6.
ELaid Cymru 166,321(Walsh Nati-onalists)
Social demo- 15^,193cratic andLabour (N.Ireland
Independent(N. Ireland)
The Speaker(N. Ireland)
Others
32,795
35,705
308,280
0
1
0
6. Net Jront 191,267
7. Others 971,512 13
/ the firstprime Ministerthe UnitedKingZtem but
Ebr the rest of the world, and
specially for the West, the election will
go do-wn as the opening of a new chapter,
Mrs. Thatcher is not only/£he f i rs t woman
head of a Government in the highly developed
democracies of the West. Her other claim
to be remembered will be as the trend-
setter in adopting more s t r ic t ly the doct-
rines of Capitalism than any other country
of Vfestern Europe (or North America)--these
- 101 -
Western countries have been compelled or
persuaded to dilute them by considerations
of social justice, economic egalitarianism,
the growth of the power of trade unions and
the idealistic reaction against the pursuit
of ever-increasing affluence.
5br Britain the Conservative victory
represents the return to a two-party system
which had come under threat from the emergence
of regional parties and the Liberal Earty
revival.
Indeed Mr. Callagahan had headed a
minority Government in the last 18 months
surviving by an informal coalition with the
Liberals or by winning the support of regional
parties including the ULster Unionists of
whom the most widely known MP is Bioch Ibwell,
the guru of racialism in Britain.
Ihe present election produced an over-
all majority for the Conservatives as a
result of the virtual extinction of the
* c
•^02 -
Scottish National Party and gains from
the Liberal ftirty. All fringe parties,
the fascist National Jront, Communist and
extreme left-wing groups, have been obli-
terated leaving on the British political
map only Conservatives and Labour* The
differences between the two parties on
the economic front which is what matters
politically in peacetime, have widened from
Mrs. Thatcher's shift to the right of the
previous Conservative Government of Edward
Heath and therefore project a period of
confrontation which may in two years,
according to Mr. Stee, the Liberal leader
come to a head in industrial strife, popular
disenchantment and economic disequilibrium.
Taking first the likely conse-
quences on the Asian community, the f i rs t
thing that strikes i s the electoral batter-
ing that the National iFront received. They
fielded 300 candidates, 98 per cent of them
in English constituencies. Everyone of them
- 103 ~
including the President, Mr. Tyndall, an'
his deputy, Martin Webster, los t their
deposits. In every constituency the NF
candidates polled fewer votes than in the
previous election.
Mr. Tyndall in Hackney £buth and
Shoreditch, where NF has i t s headquarters
and a history of violence and intimidation
of Asians, won 1,958 votes compared with
2 , 5 ^ in the previous election jus t as Mr,
Vfebster did. In a l l the three Vblverham-
pton constituencies, notorious for NF thugs,
the NF vote dropped by 50 per cent. South-
a l l , the scene of the biggest violence in
the election, re-elected the s i t t ing Labour
MP, Mr, Bidwell, by an increased majority
of 11,000 - the NF candidate getting only
637 votes.
I t i s possible that the defeat of the
Labour marginals was helped by some Labour
voters switching to Conservatives. Mrs.Thatcher's emotive reference to inner c i t iesbeing "swamped" by coloured immigrants may
have helped. But for a l l pract ical purposes,the NF has been exposed as a group, rejectedby the British people.
DocumentationMonthly
Vol. Ill No.6
JUNE 1979
Research & ReferenceEieetion Commission of india
C H A P T E R r I
LIST OF ARTICLES
Akbar5 M.J.
Bhartiya, Santosh
Nepal Awakes :
Sunday i June 2kt 1979,PP. 2 8 - 3 1 .
What i s happening inGujarat ?
Sunday : June 10, 1979»PP. 59 - 6 1 .
Chakravarty, Nikhil Importance of being Urs.
Mainstream s June 16,1979,pp. 1 - 2.
Karunanidhi, M. The Man who Scared •Ind i ra Gandhi.
Sunday "t June, 10,1979,pp. 2M- - 26.
Limaye, Madhja The ambitions of the RSS.
Sunday : June 10,1979»pp. 32 - 37.
Norton, fh i l i p Party Organization InThe House of Commons*
Parliamentary Affairs JAutumn 1978,pp. J+06 - if23.
Pridhani, Geoffrey Scologists In B3OLiti.cs :The Vfest German Case.
Parliamentary Affairs JAutumn 1978, pp. U 6 W
Ranjan, Arun Who Murdered L.N- Mishra ?
Sunday s June 2^,1979,PP. n - 17.
Shetty, V.T* RajeshBker Indira Vs. Ifrs 1 the b a t t l efor supremacy*
Onlooker s June 1- 1?, 1979p . 11.
Singh, Jaswant Janata * Bevolution withDoubts.
Imprint s June 1979,pp". 57 - 61 .
Europe - Electing a NewParliament.
Time : June 11,1979,p . 16.
Verghese, B.G. l h a t Price Eemocracy ?
India Today s June 16-30,1979,pp. 72 - 73.
Wright, Claudia The President loses hisgrip.
New Statesman * June 8,1979,pp. 818 - 819.
The author examines Carter'spol i t ical failure and fallingprestige.
DAILIES
Abraham, A.S* Iran And The Third World :Travail of Fashionifcg ANew Order.
The Times of India : New Delhi,June if, 1979, p. 8.
Amin, R.K. Janata Party's developmentstrategy.
The Hindustan Times i New Delhi,June 3, 1979, p. 7.
Bap t i sta, In di r a Italian election verdict 1continued instabi l i ty .
Indian Bcpressj New Delhi,June 8, 1979, p* 6.
Hiattacharjee, Ajit Mr. Urs and realignment.
Indian Ecpre ss J New Delhi,June 26, 1979, p . 6.
6
Bywater, Marion B. ReDercussions of EuropeanPoll.
Indian Express i New Delhi,June 29, 1979} p . 6.
Chopra, V.D- Poli t ics In A Flux :Time For Left Jhr t iesTo Act.
Patr iot : New Delhi,June 11, 1979, p . 2.
D' Monte, Darrjl French Party Line - Up ForEuropean i b l l .
Tne Times of India sNew Delhi,June 8, 1979, p. 6.
Ifernandes, George Need Pbr New Be alignmentBased On Principles.
Patriot : New Delhi,June 30, 1979, P. 2.
John, George Mrs. Gandhi and the Split ,
India Express : New Delhi,June 29," 1979, p. 6.
Kumar, D.P. Odds Against Nepal'sPol i t ica l Part ies .
The Statesman i June 16,1979,p. 6.
7
Madhukar, A.L. Salt I I t Great Landmarkin Sbviet Peace Effort.
Patriot s New Delhi,June 22, 1979, p. 2.
Mehta, Balraj Fighting inflation -Janata style.
Indian Express , New Delhi,June 22, 1979, p . 6.
Mishra, R.K. Dubious Future Of Congress- IAs National Party.
Patriot s New Delhi,June 18, 1979c V* 2«
Nair, Kunhanandan European Parliament:Illusion and Reality.
Patr iot : New Delhi,June 9'* 1979, p . 2.
Narayan, 3.K, Khomeini's Involution OnV/rong Track.
Patriot : New Delhi,June 2, 1979, P. 2.
Patriot Gujarat Parties PreparePbr Election Battles,
Patriot : New Delhi,June 10, 1979, p. 2.
8
Patriot Two Years of non-government.
Patriot : New Delhi,June 28, 1979,p . 2 & 7.
Patwardhan, Achyut Janata, RSS and thenation.
Indian Scpress : New Delhi,June 9, 1979, p. 6.
Sahay, S. More About The .Amendment.
The Statesman, New Delhi,June 29, 1979, P. 6.
Deals with the hhthamendment to the Consti-tution of India.
Singh, Iqbal Historic conroromise wins iI ta l ian Poll.
Patriot : New Delhi,June ilf, 1979, p. 2.
Singh, S. Nihal The Chess Game i MotivesBehind the Moves.
The Statesman I New Delhi,June 26, 1979, p. 6.
Discusses motives behindthe resignation of DevrajUrs, Devi Lai and RajNarain.
9
Singh, S. Mlhpi Janata Rule t .Alienationof the In te l lec tua l .
Tne Statesman t New Delhi,June 19, 1979j P« 6.
Sunder Raj an, K.R. The Two Faces of Mr. Urs.
Ihe Hindustan Times !New Delhi,June 22, 1979, p. 9.
Vanaik, A. Euro-ELections Aid The le f tPart ies .
The Times of India :New Delhi,June 5, 1979, p . 6.
i 10 :
C H A P T E R - I I
NOTES ON JUDICIAL DECISIONS IN ELECTIONPETITIONS
During the month under review judg-
ments for three e lec t ion p e t i t i o n s delivered
by various High Courts were received in the
Commission, Of these , two p e t i t i o n s r e l a t ed
to e lect ion to the Legislat ive Councils and
one to the Legislat ive Assembly. All these
p e t i t i o n s were dismissed by the respect ive
High Courts.
11
I _ ELECTION PETITION NO. 11 OF 1978ANDHRA PRADESH
Chinna Nagi Baddy
Vs.
D.L. Havindra Reddy andothers.
In this petition Chinna Nagi Beddy,
a contesting candidate, challenged the
election of D.L. Ravindra Reddy to Andhra
Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 1!?6 -
Mydakur Assembly Cbnstituency on the
grounds of commission of corrupt practices
and irregularities in the counting of
votes. The petitioner prayed for (i)
recounting of votes; (i i) voiding of the
election of the returned candidate ( i i i )
a further declaration to the effect of his
being duly elected.
The petitioner could not substainate
any of the allegations made in the petition
and as such i t was dismissed by the High
Court.
12
II - ELECTION PETITION NO. 2 OF 1977^KAHNATiKA K •
C.S. Pannalal
Vs.
S.M. Aswathanarayana Settyand others.
In this petition C.S.Pannalal, one
of the defeated candidates, challenged
the election of S.M. Aswathanarayana
Setty to Karnataka Legislative Council
from the Kolar local Authorities Consti-
tuency on the grounds of commission of
corrupt practices as enumerated in Sections
123(1)U), 123(i)(B)and 123 (5) of the
Itepresentation of the People Act, 1951»
The petitioner prayed that the election
of the f irst respondent be declared void
and h>e be declared duly elected.
None of the allegations made in the
election petition could be proved and
therefore, the High Court dismissed the
petition.
i 13 -
I I I - ELECTION PETITION NO, 10 OF 1978, MAHARASHTRA
Shrikrishna Vasudeo Datye
Vs.
ftialachandra Jnant Sawant
In this petition Shrikrishna Vasudeo
Datye, a contesting candidate, challenged
the election of Bhalachandra Anant Sawant
to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from
Ratnagiri local Authorities Constituency
on the ground of commission of corrupt
practices under section 123 d ) of the
Representation of the People Act, 195" 1*
The petitioner could not prove any
of the allegations mentioned in the petition,
She High Court, therefore, dismissed the
pe t i tion.
C H A P T E R - I I I
CASES OF DISQUALIFICATION
During the month under review
no pe t i t ion for the removal or reduc-
t ion of the period of d i squa l i f i ca t ion
for membership of the Parliament or
State l eg i s l a tu re was decided by the
Election Commission.
: 15 *
C H A P T E R - IV
PARTY POSITION IN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES,STATES/UNION TERRITORI~"ES
The party position in the Legislative
Assemblies of States/TJhion Territories as
on 1 June, 1979 differed from that on 1 May,
1979 in the following respects J-
In Gujarat Legislative Assembly
expiry of an Independent legislator reduced
their number from 6 to 5»
In Kerala Legislative Assembly
following k bye-elections, the strength of
the Janata Party went up from 9 to 10,
that of the Communist Party of India (M)
from 17 to 19 and that of the Muslim League
(Opposition) from 3 to if.
In Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
the defection of one Congress Legislator
to Congress (I) raised the strength of the
la t ter from 58 to 59 and correspondingly
reduced the strength of the former from
21 to 20.
i 16 i
In Sikkim Legislative Assembly
h- Independent Legislators formed a new
party namely "JRrajaibafotra Congress,
ftiis reduced the number of Independents
from 5 to 1.
In Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
a l l the 27 Congress MLi enbloc defected
to the Congress (I) as a result of which
Congress was completely wiped off from
the Assembly. Congress (I) emerged in
the lamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for
the f i r s t time.
1/
PARTY POSITION IN THE STATE/UNION TERRITORIES ASSEMBLIES
1 - 6- 1979
State/IMonTerritory
1.
Total JanataStrength
Congress(I)
Congress CPI CPM Others Independents Vacan
2. 3. i t . 6. 7. 8. 10
Andhra Pradesh
Assam
Bihar @
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
*JsJsrau & Kashmir
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh ;
Maharashtra @
Man i pur
Meghalaya
Nasal and
29^
126
32U
182
90
68
76
22*f
1*40
320
288
60
60
60
50
60
21k
107
78
5h
11
5510
237
99
kk
1
216
9
kh
57
8
-
7 •
156
19
59
52
11
7
23
13
7
1
9
1
1
20
20
29
6
6
21
8
10
3
8
16
3
22
90
57
55
2
10
10
53
53
5
3
8
2
2
2
1
1
1.
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
SLkkim
Tamil Nadu
Iripura
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Arunachal Pradesh
Delhi ***
Go a, Daman &. Diu
Mizoram
Pondicherry
Octal
2.
1^7
117
200
32
23*+
60
1+25
29 *+
30
56
30
30
30
3,997
3.
116
25
1U9
26
8
355
29
21
kh
2
1,795
k.
21
15
25
-
27
-
^3
11
-
10
5.
52
16
-
-
7
10
-
1
Assembly dissolved
5 -
Assembly dissolved
79^ 173
6.
1
7
1
-
5-
9
2
-
-
on
-
on
81+
7.
1
8
1
-
12
51
1
178
-
-
28 Apri l 1979
-
11 November 1
302
8.
-
58
k
if
181
7
1
60
8
-
18
679
9.
3
2
1
1
2
6
if
1
-
5
91
10.
-
-
-
1
-
-
3
-
-
1
-
19
@ Latest larty Position not received,
* Excluding 2*+ seats in Pakistan occupied Territory.
*** Delhi Metropolitan Council.
0Jiier Parties include t-
1. Aidhra Pradesh
2 .
3.Bihar
!+• Gujarat
5, Jammu & Kashmir
6. Kerala
7.Karnataka
8 .Maharashtra
9,Meghalaya
lO.Nagaland
11.Punjab
Majillis Ittehad -ul-Musliramen 3.
Plains Tribals Gbuncil of Assam h, Revolutionary CommunistParty of India h.
Jbrward HLoc 1, Ihited Opposition Jront 7, All India Jharkand 1,Lok Paksha Vidhayak Dal 7.
Group of h MLAs. of original Gongress vho have not joined eitherthe Cbngress ©* Cbngress (I) 'party.
National Gbnference 50, Jamat Islami 1, Janata Pront 3«
Kerala Cbngress 19} Bevolutionary Sacialist Party of India 9jMuslim League 11, Muslim League (Opposition)'-*, P.S.P. 2, NationalDemocratic Party (Nair) 2, National Democratic Party (Pi l la i ) 2.
Muslim League 1, Republican Party of India 1.
Peasants and VJbrkers Party 13, Republican Party of India (Kamble) 3 ,All India Muslim League 2, Ibrward HLoc 1^, Republican Party(Khobragade) 2, Maharashtra Purogarni Vidhi Mandal Cbngress Paksha 36,Purogarni vidhi Mandal Cbngress Paksha - Independent 5) MaharashtraSaraajwadi Cbngress 2, Lok Sahi Cbngress Group 9» Nag Vidharbha AndolanSamiti 2, R.P.I. (Gavai) 2.
All Party Hill Leaders Conference 31, Hill State People DemocraticParty 13, Public Demands Implementation Convention 3> Meghalaya Ihited
Legislature Pront 10.
Ihited Democratic Jront 39, National Cbnvention of Nagaland 1,NPCG 15.
Shiromani Akali Dal 58.
1 2.Rajasthan
13.SLkklm
1*+. Tamil Nadu
i6.Vfest Bengal
1#.irunach?l' Pradesh
i8.Mizorajm
19.Uttar Fradesh
Progressive Party k*
Prajatantra Cbngress k.
AIDMK 126, IKK k?, Indian National Ebrward HLoc 2, Tamil NaduProgressive Toilers Party 2, Pbrward ELoc 1, Muslim League 1,Gandi Kamaraj National Gbngress 2.
RSP 2, Pbrward ELoc 1, Tripura Upajati Juva Samity k.
Ibrv;ard HLoc 26, RSP 20, Revolutionary Communist Party of India 3 ,Iforward HLoc (Marxist) 3, Biplabi Bangla Cbngress 1, Socia l i s tUnity Centre k, Muslim League 1, Cbngress Ibr Democracy 1, CPI(Marxist Len in i s t ) .
People's Party of Arunachal Pradesh 8 .
People's Cbnference 18.
Ehartiya Socia l i s t Party 1.
21
C E A P T E R -
DISPOSAL OF ELTTCTT ON PETITIONS
T A B L Tg ~ J.
Total number of election petitions filed,disposed of, . pending in the HighCourts and appeals pending in the SupremeCourt - Lok Sabha Elections March, 1977.
•one of State/rion Territory
,-Andhra Pradesh
• Assam
.Bihar
. Guj arat
, Jammu & Kashmir
.Karnataka
.Kerala
.Madhya Pradesh
.Maharashtra
.Punjab
. Rajasthan
•
Piled
3
3
3
2
1
1
52
2
1
1
30-6-1979
Election Petitionsin the High Courts
Disposed Pendingof
3
2 1
2
1
1
5 T
2
2
1
1
Filed
1
1
-
-
-
-
3
1-
2
Appeals in theSupreme CourtDisposed Pending
of
1
1
- -
- —
1 2
-1
- —
1 1
J l
22
1. 2. 3 . *f. 5. 6. 7.
2. Sikkira3.Tamil Nadu
+, Uttar Pradesh
?.West Bengal
S. ndfaan & NicobarIslands
7. Lakshadweep
1
if
1
3
1
1
1
>f
1
3
1
1
Total 35
In a l l , 35 election pet i t ions arose out of the Lok Sabha
lection, March 1977. Of these, 3U- have been disposed of by the
arious High Courts and only one i s pending. In 9 cases, appeals
gninst the order or decision of the High Courts were filed in the
lupreme Court. The Supreme Court has disposed of only two appeals
nd seven are pending.
23
T A B L E - I I
Number of election petitions fileddisposed of, . •• . pending in theHigh Courts and appeals pending inthe Supreme Court - Elections tothe Legislative Assemblies - 1977-78
Name of State/Union Territory
1./jidhra Pradesh
2. Assam
3 . Bihar
'+..Haryana
?.Hin?achal Pradesh
S. Jararau & Kashmir7.Karnataka
5. Kerala
'.Madhya Pradesh
'.Maharashtra
.Meghalaya
.Nagaland
• Orissa
Filed
21
9
31
7
5
19
7^
19
28
13
1
9
6
30-6-1979
ELectionin the HiDisposed
of
15
7
20
7
if
2
19
25
If
1
k
6
Petitionsgh CourtsPending
6
2
11
-
1
1*f
72
-
3
9
-
Appeals in theSupreme Court
Filed Disposed Pendingof
2
2
3
1
-
2
If
2
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
1
1
-
-
2
2
3
1
-
2
-
2
3
1
-
-
1
2k
1.
. Punj ab
• Raj as than
.Tamil Nadu
.Tripura
.Uttar i^adesh
.West Bengal
ION TERRITORIES
Jkrunachal Eradesh
Delhi
Goa, Daman & Diu
Mizoram
ibndi cherry
Total
2 .
16
18
8
-
37
1
4
if
1
-
2
329
3.
15
9
8
-
28
-
-
if
1
-
2
186
1
9
-
9
1
-
-
-
-
-
6
2
if
-
8
-
-
-
1
-
-
6.
2
-
-
-
-
-
—
-
-
-
-
7
7.
if
2
if
-
8
-
—
-
1
-
-
36
A to ta l of 329 election pe t i t ions were filed in the various
.gh Courts following the .Assembly Elections 1977-1978. Of these,
$6 election pet i t ions have so far been disposed off, and 1+3 are
Hiding. In a l l *+3 appeals against the order or decision of the
,gh Courts were filed in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court
is disposed of 7 appeals and 36 are pending.
: 25 s
C H A P T E R - VI
( I ) BYE - ELECTIONS
( i i ) VACANCY TABLE
BYE - ELECTIONS
During the month of June, 1979> in
a l l , 5 "bye-elections were held, two tDO the
Lok Sabha from Tamil Nadu 30-Na gap a t t in am
(3C), 31 - Thanjavur Constituencies and 3
to the Legislat ive Assembly of Uttar Pradesh
!+1~Gunnaur, 255- Rari and 277- Allahabad
West Consti tuencies.
LOK SABHA BYE - ELECTIONS
Tne two bye-elect ions to the Lok Sabha
were caused by the death of the s i t t i n g
member Shri Murugaiyan on 6.1.1979 from 30-
Nagapattinam (SC) Constituency and the res ig-
nation of the s i t t i n g member Shri S-D.Soma-
sundaram on 16.11.1978 from 31-Thanoavur
Constituency. After the f ina l publicat ion
of the revised e l e c t o r a l r o l l s of both the
s 26 J ^
constituencies on 10 May, 1979 > the
Commission fixed the following common
poll programme s-
(a) issue of noti- 16 May, 1979fication;
(b) l as t date for ~ 23 May, 1979filing of nomi-nations;
(c) date of scrutiny 2*f May, 1979of nominations;
(d) l a s t date for the 26 May, 1979withdrawal ofcandidatures;
(e) date of poll, i f 17 June, 1979necessary;
(f) date of completion 25 June, 1979of election.
In 30- Nagapattinam (SC) Parliamentary
Constituency, of the six candidates who filed
their nominations, two withdrew their candi-
datures, leaving a total of h candidates in
the election fray. Of these, two were inde-
pendents and two were fielded by AL1 India
-4nna EMK and Communist Party of India res-
i 27 «
pectively. In the General Election to the
Lok Sabha 1977, seven candidates filed
their nominations from this constituency
of which one nomination was rejected and h
withdrew their candidatures, leaving two
candidates one each belonging to CPI and
DMK in the field.
885 polling stations were set up this
time as against 752 polling stations get up
in 1977 General Election from this Consti-
tuency,
Ihe Commission had appointed six senior
officers of the Tamil Nadu Government as
observers for the poll.
Out of a total electorate of 682,750
571,57^ (83*72%) voted as against 523,928
(78,97$) out of 663,^3 electors in the
General Election 1977* Ihe number of rejected
votes was 8,17^ (1.U3/0 as against 7,900 -
(1.51/0 in the General Election 1977.
28
Ihe polling was by and large peaceful
and no major incident was reported from any
part of the constituency*
Ihe contest was mainly between GPI
and AIADMK, Ihe GPI candidatejMurugaiyam K
was, however, able to retain this seat
with a reduced margin of 15>9^1 votes over
i t s nearest AIADMK contender Mahaling&B K.
This seat had been won by a candidate
sponsored by CPI in 1977 by a margin of
^0,810 votes over i t s only AIEMK r iva l .
Ihe table below gives a comparative
account of the performance of the candidates
in the General ELection 1977 and bye-
election, 1979.
i 29 :
T A B L E
General ELection 1977 ^re-SLection, 1979
Candidates Party VotesBoiled
Candidates Party VotesIblled
I.Murugaiyan, CPI 278 A19S.G.
2. Ihazhai Karu- DMK 237,609nanidhi M.
I.Murugaiyan, K CPI 288,000
2.
3.
h.
Mahalingan?, M J
Panneer selvamA.
Emmanuel Ham-a r a j , V-li.
BSD
BID
272
2
1
,059,200
In 31~ Ihanjavur Parliamentary
Constituency bye-election, 2h candidates
filed their nominations, of which one was
rejected and 11 withdrew their candidatures
leaving 12 contestants (IMK, INC(I) and 10
Independents) in the field. In the 1977
General ELection, h candidates had filed
their nominations in this constituency of
whom two withdrew their candidatures leaving
two candidates set up by TMK. and
respectively in the field.
i 30 :
8*f6 polling stations were set up
for this bye-election as against 721 polling
stations set up for the General ELection
1977.
The Commission had appointed six
senior officers of Tamil Nadu Government
as observers for the poll.
Out of 658,855 electors, 5^7,582
(83.11$) voted in the bye-election as
against 1*90,266 (77.^/0 out of 633,005
electors in the General ELection 1977.
The number of invalid votes was 8,857
(1.62$) as against 9891 <2.02#) in 1977.
Shri Singaravadivel S. the candi-
date fielded by INC(I) won the bye-election
by a margin of 92,8^3 by defeating itobil-
Dharamalingam, P., the candidate sponsored
by EMK. In the General ELection 1977,
won this seat by defeating the candidate
put up by EMK by a margin of 97,7^3 votes*
31
The table below gives a comparative
account of the performance of the candidates
in the General Election, 1977 and they bye-
election, 1979.
T A B L E
General Election 1?77 ~ Bye-election 1979Candidates Party Tfotes Candidates Party Votes
Iblled Iblled
I.Sbmasundaram AIADMK 289,059 1. Singaravadi- INCCD 309,868S.D, vel S.
2. Ganesan, L. DMK 191,316 2.&ibil Dhara- DMK 217,020malingara, P»
3.Ramaiah, M. IND 2,169
g Che- IND 2,158t t i a r , T«V.
5.Saliyaiuanga- IND 1,355lam KavignarKulumaiyan V.
6.Chinnaiyan S. IND 1,279
Hussain,IND 1,0307M.
8.Sundararajan, IND 961V.
9.1bangasamy IND 902Nadar".. -
lO.Sheshadri* IND 880Iyer, L.
11.HD1%^ Paksha IND 617Rangaswaray
12. Var adade si gan, IND lf86O.A.
32
SCTION TO LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.
Tne three bye-elect ions to the Legis-
l a t i v e Assembly of Uttar Pradesh were held
from J+I-Gunnaur, 255 - Rari and 277- Allaha-
bad West cons t i tuenc ies . The vacancies were
caused by the death of the s i t t i n g members
of the respect ive cons t i tuenc ies . The d e t a i l s
are as under '—
No. and Name ofthe Constituency
If1-Gunnaur
255-Bari
277—Allahabad Vfest
Cause
Death
Death
Death
VacancyDate
26.11.78
21.8.78
8.11.78
After the final publication of the
electoral rolls , the Commission fixed the
following common programme for the three
bye-elections*-
33
(a) Issue of noti- 28 April, 1979fication;
(b) las t date for 5 May, 1979making nominations;
(c) scrutiny of no mi- 7 May, 1979nations;
(d) las t date for 9 May, 1979withdrawal ofcandidatures;
(e) date of poll, if 3 June, 1979necessary;
(f) date of completion 8 June, 1979of election.
In hi- Gunnaur assembly constituency,
there were 6 contesting candidates set up
each by Janata Party, INC((I), INC and GPI
and two Independents.
2he Commission appointed two senior
officer of the Uttar Eradesh State Govern-
ment as i t s observers.
A total of 61,837 0*6*97%) votes out
of 131>658 exercised their franchise whereas
in the General ELection 1977, 66,^02(51.33$)
* 3*+ s
voters out of 129,351 electors cast their
votes. The number of invalid vote was
985 (1.59JO in the bye-election as against
810 (1.22$) in the General ELection, 1977.
The poll passed of peacefully,
ant. Prem Vati of Janata Party defeated
her nearest rival Jugal Kishore of !lNC(I),
by a margin of 21,982 votes.
Ihe following table gives a compara-
tive account of performance of candidates
in the General ELection to the Uttar Pradesh
Legislative Assembly, 1977 and the bye-
election, 1979.
T A B L E
General ELection 1977 ffye-election 1979
Candidates Party Votes Candidates Party VotesPolled Polled
I.Sbeoraj Singh IND Uo,307 I.Prem Vati JNP 37,592
2. Jugal Kishore ING 16,1+1? 2. Jugal Kishore INC(I) 15,610
3.RLshi Pal SLngh JNP 7,997 3.Sheo Baj GPI 2,7^6
* 35 *
1. 2. 3 . V. 5. 6.
3 Pal Singh IND 873 V.
5.
6.
Malloo Hani
Sonpal Singh
Yogendra KumarSingh
INC
IND
IND
2
1
1
,385
,280
,239
In 255-Rari Assembly Cbn sti tuen cy, there
were 13 contesting candidates - 2 belonging to
INC(I) and Janata Party respectively and 11
Independents.
Two senior officers of the Uttar Pradesh
Government were appointed as Commission's observers
for the bye-election.
Out of total of 1^3,093 electors, 75,9^7
(53.08$) voters exercised their franchise as
against 72,323 (53.73$) out of a total of 13^,58^
electors in the General ELection 1977. Ihe percen-
tage of invalid votes in this bye-election was
202V (2.66$) as against 1,623 (2.2k%) in 1977. Tae
election was completed peacefully.
The main contest was between INC (I) and
Janata Party candidates. Surya Nath Upadhyay of
INC (I) weosted this seat from the Janata Party
by defeating i t s candidate Arjun by a margin of
1,851 votes.
A comparative account of the performance
of the candidates in the General Election to
the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly 1977 and
the bye-election, 1979 is given in the table
below '—
T A B L E
General
Candidates
1,
2 .
3.
Raj BahadurXadava
Surya NathUpadhyay
Ram Lai
Election
Party
JNP
INC
IND
, 1977
VotesPolled
3^,730
33,511
2,V>9
Bye-Election
Candidates
1. Surya NathUpadhyay
2.Arjun
3.Pat i Raj
*f. Iribhuvan Nath
5. Gh an shy am
6.Sha l i l J&mad
1979Party
INC(I)
JNE
IND
IND
IND
IND
VotesJiblled
31,
29,
3,
1,
1,
1,
^73
622
878
9^5
*62
1*0
1. 2. 3 . **- 5. 6 .
7.Kalpanath IND 1,027
8.Udai Raj IND 9 ^
9.Bam Lai IND 675
IChlhakur Prasad IND 55k
11 . Ram Niranjan IND
12.Hira Lai IND 367h Prajapati
13.Munder IND 313
In 277-Allahabad Vfest assembly
cons t i tuency , there were 18 con tes t ing ;
candidates k candidates each s e t up by
INC ( I ) , Janata Party, CPI and ING and
1*f Independents.
The Cbnrai ssion had appointed two
observers for the p o l l from among the
senior o f f i c e r s o f the State Government.
In this bye-election out of a total
of 1*+6,115 electors, ^0,9^1 (28.02$)
exercised their franchise. The number
of votes rejected was 903 (2.21 #)* In
the General Election to the Uttar Eradesh
Legislative Assembly 1977 from this consti-
tuency, out of a total of 125,72*f, *+2,537
(33.3$) exercised their franchise. The
number of invalid votes was 727 (1.71/0.
The poll went off peacefully.
Naunihal Singh of Indian National
Congress (I) wrested this seat from his
nearest rival Mehboob .Ahmad of Janata
Party by defeating him by a margin of
votes.
The table below gives a comparative
account of the performance of candidates
in the General Election to Uttar Rradesh
Legislative Assembly, 1977 and the bye-
election, 1979.
i 39 i
T A B L E
General Election, 1977 Bye-Election 1979
Candidates Party "Votes CandidatesPolled
Par ty Vo te sPolled
LHabin Ahmad JNP 25,325 1.Ch. Naunihal INC(I) 1*f,000Singh
2.Sumit Chandra INC 9,10*+ 2.Mehboob Ahmad JNP 8,865
3»Noor Ahmad
.Ram Dular
5.&>han LaiSbnkar
6 ^ b t i Lai
7.Shiv Pal
8.Jiya Lai
9.Masoor Ahmadal ias
Rais Ahmad
lO.Ram Prasad
1. Pooran LaiChaurasia
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
2,55^
1,299
1,002
636
J+85
h^
3 *
210
3.Tirath RamKohli
k. Gopal DasYadav
5«Raja Ram Verma
6.Suneet ChandraVyas
7«Masood ^mad
8,Maikulal
9.Sujar Pd.Maurya
10. Che toy I a lMishra
H.P.CKushwaha
IND
IND
CPI
INC
IND
IND
IND
IND
IND
5,658
1,389
1,295
919
*f 8 2
226
206
160
1. 2. 3 . W, 5. 6.
12.-Anand Mohan IND 12W
i3.Har i Lai IND 121Jai swal
Kumar IHD 118
15. Purushottani IND 103
16. Surendar Kumar INB 80
17. Abdul Khalia IND 61An s a r i
18.Dr. Mohd. Iqba l IND k?ALam
S 1+1 I
( i i) VACANCIES
At present, there are 5 vacancies
in the House of the Bsople, 17 vacancies
in the various Legislative Assemblies/
Metropolitan Council and 60 vacancies in
the Legislative Councils,
The following table gives a State/
thion Territory-wise break-up of the
number, and date of vacancy, the reason
thereof and the action initiated for
filling them.
: k2 i
T A B L E
Vacancies in the Cbuncil of States, House of thePeople, Legislative Assemblies and LegislativeCouncils as on 20.6.1979
State/ IhionUterritory
Vacancy Constituency VacancyCause Date
Reason for pending/action taken.
OOtUCIL OF STAIE3
NIL
HOUSE OF THE PEOPLE
1. Kamataka 20-Chikraagalur Expulsion
2. Tamil Nadu 1-Madras North Death
19.12.78 In view of the two e lec t iop e t i t i o n s which are pendinbefore the High Court ofKarnataka, the ElectionConnnission has decided todefer the holding of bye-elec t ion for the time-being. Bevision of e l e c t -oral rolls is in progress.Date of final publicationis 8.8,1979
7.I+.79 Revision of electoral rolli s io progress. Ihe finalpublication is on 10.10.79
1. 2. 3. k. 6 .
3 . Assam
k, Aidhra Prsdesh
« Maharashtra
1 8- Mangaldai
1 15-Guntur
1 ifi-Khed
Death
Death
Death
2^.3.79 Bevision of electoral ro l l si s tn progress and these areto be finally published on1*f. 8.1979.
5.6.79 The revised electoral r o l l swill be finally publishedon 9.11.79.
2^.6.79 CEO has been asked to suggesta suitable progranrnie for re -vision of electoral r o l l s .
LEGISLATIVE A3SEKBLIS£/METBDPOLITAN COUNCIL
1. Aidhra Pradesh
2 . Gujarat
197- Gadwal26-Pendurthi
p56-Ghoghd
Death
Death
DeathDeath
17.11.7820.12.78
1.3.79 )1^.5.79)
The electoral ro l l s havefeeen finally published on2.3.79 and M-.M-.79 respect-ively. The programme forholding the bye-electioni s under consideration.
I3ye-election has beendeferred in viev/ of comingGeneral Election.
1. 2. 6.
3 . Bihar
h, Karnataka
. Kerala
6 . Madhya Eradesh
7 . SLkkim
2 22-Ehore (SC)193-Asthawan
2 >+O-Harihar
57- Th umkur
90-Kottayan
1 271+-Indore V
SDreong
DeathDeath
Death
Death
Expulsion
Death
19.3.79) Bevision of electoral rol ls29.3*79) i s in progress and the same
will be publisfeexlon 8.10.79.
31.12.78 ELectoral ro l l s , which areunder revision, will befinally published on28.7.79
Besignation 6.3.79
2*+. 1.79
8.9.78
21*2.79
Revision of electoral rollsis in progress and will befinally published on28.9.79
The poll is scheduled tobe held on 17.9.79.
ELectoral rolls publishedon 3.3.79. The out-comeof petition of Shri SureshSeth is awaited.
^re-election has beendeferred in view of thecoming general election.
1. 5. 6.
8 . Delhi
9 . Maniour
10. Uttar Pradesh
1 15-Ashok Nagar Death
8-Lamlai )17-Lamsang I35-Khangabok<27-Kakching <
55-Hadha
8.10.78 Ihe poll i s scheduled tobe held on 16.9.79
Resignation h.h,79 >e bye-elections havebeen in^view of the /deferredpending general election.
Death 28.6.7$' Programme for revision ofelectoral rolls is underconsideration;
LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS
a) Casual Vacancies
1. Bihar 1-Saran LocalAuthori t ies
1-Patna LocalAuthori t ies
Death
Death;
9.8.78)
2^.11.78
The Commission i s waiting)for the re const i tu t ion ofPanchayat Simitis & Z i l l aParishads by 31st August1979 fa i l ing which i t wi l litself issue notificationfor holding the bye-elections.
1+6
1. 2.
2. Jaisrau & Kashmir 1 Kashmir PanchayatCbnstituency
3-. Tit tar Pradesh Jaunpur LocalAuthorities
b) Vacancies due to retirement
1, Jndhra Pradesh
Resig-nation
9.7.77
22 2-Krishna Local Auth.2-Guntur Local Auth. )2-Hyderabad Local Auth, )
ELectedto Legis-l a t i v eAssembly.
)
23.6.77
Ihe Commission has asked theState Government to constitutethe electoral college so thatthe vacancy may be filled upby 31 August, 1979.
The Commission has decided notto hold the bye-election inview of the biennial electionin 1980.
2-Mehboobnagar L.A.1-Medak local Auth.1-Khammam Local Auth.1-Nellore Local Auth.1-Prakasam Local Auth.2-.'•'•' • East Godavari
L.A.2-West Godavari L.A.2-Chittor Local Auth.2-Kurnool Local Auth.1-Anan^pur Local A.1-Cuddapah Local Auth.
)Retired 1.7.76 Re constitution of localbodies i s avaited.
1. 2. 6.
2 . Janrau &, Kashmir 1 Jaramu Local Auth. Retired
3 . Bihar
19.7.69 BeconstitutLon of l o c a lbodies i s awaited.
11 1-Patna Local Auth. )1-Ehojpur Local Auth.)1-Saran Local Auth.1~Chaniparan Local A.1-Muzaffarpur L.A.1-Darbhanga Local A.. )1-Monghyr Local Auth.)1-Bar en a Local Auth.1-San thai Parganas L.A.1-Hazaribagh L.Auth. )1-Dhanbad Local Auth. )
) Betired
)
6.5.78 Baconstitution of l o c a lbodies i s awaited.
1-Mysore Cum--Kodagu L.Auth.
1-Dharwad Local Auth.1-Mandya Local Auth.1-Hasan Local Auth.1-Belgaum Local Auth,1-Bi.japur Local Auth,1-Dakshina Kanara
Local Auth.
)
)B3 tired)
1.7.78 Re constitution of localbodies is awaited.
1. 2. 5. 6.
5. Tamil Kadu 15 1-Madras Local Auth. Retired
Re t i re d
1-ChingJkeputf Local A. )2-Cbimbatore-Nilgiris )
Local Auth. )2-Madurai Local Auth. )2-Tir unelveli Local A. )2-North Arcot Local A. ) Retired2-&)uth Arcot Local A.)
3,/T-TLruchirapally )/ " Pudukkottai L.A. )
1-Kanyakumari Local A. )
P 1 L nf. I Re const i tu t ion of l oca l^ l ' H ' * / D j bodies i s awaited,
21.lf.78 ]
C H A P T E R -
COMMISSION'S VIEW ON ELECTORAL REFORMS
(January to June, 1979 - Series - IV)
I t has been decided to s e r i a l i s e in
the "Itocumentation" the Commission's views
on various aspects of e l ec to r a l reforms
t h a t appeared in the Press from time to
time. The f i r s t three ins ta lments of the
s e r i e s covering the period upto December
1978 have already appeared in the i s sues
of March, April and May, 1979, r e spec t i ve ly .
This chapter covers Commission's views
on the subjects such as ( i ) Refutal of
Mrs. Gandhi's a l l ega t ion tha t the Commi-
ssion has gone out of the way in saying
t h a t e lec t ion to Chikmagalur Ikr i iamentary
Constituency wi l l not be held for another
six months. (ii) State financing of elections.
Extracts, in full, of Press reports
regarding these subjects have been repro-
duced in the following pages/-
ELECTION BODY REFUTES MRS-GANDHI'SALLEGATION
Mew Delhi, May 2h
The ELection Commission today
refu ted the a l l e g a t i o n of Mrs. Gandhi
t h a t the Chief Election Commissioner
had "gone out of h i s way" in saying
t h a t he would not hold e l e c t i o n s in
Chikmagalur for another six months.
A spokesman of the Commission
said today tohen h i s a t t en t ion was drawn
to repor t s appearing in a sect ion of
the press t ha t what '.the Commission had
sta ted was tha t " i t might reasonably
wait for a t l e a s t a period of s ix months
for the disposal of the pending e l e c t i o n
p e t i t i o n (in the Karnataka High Court)
on the bas i s of the provis ions contained
in the e lec t ion law. "
The e l ec t ion law—Section 86(7)
of the Bepresentation of the Jeople Act
dealing with trial of election
petiti&n says that "every election
petition shall be tried as expeditiously
as possible and an endeavour shall be
made to complete the trial within six
months from the date on which the elec-
tion petition is presented to the High
Court for t r i a l . "
Ihe election commission's order in
the case of Chikraagalur has been made in
keeping with this provision, the spokesman
said.
Even if an election petition is not
pending, by-elections could not be held
within six months for such reasons as
revision of electoral rolls.
The spokesman said a departure had
been made in the case of Chikmagalur.
This has been made with the sole purpose
of affording an opportunity to the consti-
tuency to elect i t s representative at the
earliest, which otherwise would remain
unrepresented indefinitely "if the normal
practice followed by the commission all
these years is to be followed. "
Normally no bye-election i s held when
a petition is pending in court.
"THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHI
25 w&r 1979"f
SHJIKDEER WANTS GOVT TO PINJiNCE
Simla, June 5 -
Chief ELection Commissioner S.L.
Shakdher said here today that he had
recommended that the Government should
finance the election, the money to be
provided in kind instead of cash to the
contesting candidates.
Talking to newsmen, Mr. Shakdherb y if
said what he meant/i11Kind*- was that the
Government should provide, paper, get the
posters printed and other material required
by the candidates for election purposes.
He said i f this was not acceptable
the Government should double the amount
fixed by the Government for spending in
elections.
Mr. Shakdher said he was of the view
that the political parties must be regu-
larised by law because for a proper funct-
ioning of democracy i t was necessary that
the political parties also functioned pro-
perly.
In reply to a question whether
financing the elections would not impose
a huge burden on the exchequer} Mr.
Shakdher said normally the Election
Commission spent between Rs.25 and 30
crore on the elections. If Government
had to finance the elections, he said
an election fund of Rs.100 crore should
be created for which the Centre and the
State should contribut Rs.20 crore on
equal basis for five years because ele-
ctions were generally held every five
years.
Replying to another question whether
in future every voterswould be supplied
an identity card, Mr. Shakdher said, "Vie
are trying this for the first time in
Sikkim on an experimental basis. If we
succeed, the system can be introduced in
other Dlaces al8o."
"THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHI6 JUNE 1979"
C H A P T E R - V I I I
GENERAL ELECTION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,
OAK ADA
Tne Parliament in Canada consists
of two chambers, the directly elected House
of Commons which has a term of five years
and a nominated Senate* Toe strength of
House of Commons i s 282 and that of Senate
i s 102 with a possible increase to 106 or
110.
General supervision over the Dominion
elections i s vested in the Chief Electoral
Officer, an independent official (created
in 1920 ) who i s given special protection in
the Canada Elections Act. He i s chosen by
a resolution of the House of Commons, holds
office during good behaviour, may be removed
only for cause in the same manner as a judge
of the Supreme Court of Canada (that i s , by •>•/
the Governor-in-Council acting on a joing address
passed by both Houses of Parliament) and is
entitled to the same superannuation on the same
conditions as the judges of the Supreme
Court of Canada. The Chief SLectoral
Officer issues the writs for the elections
to returning officers in each constituency
(although the date for the election is
fixed by the Governor-in-Council) and
after the election these officers return
the -writs to the Chief ' Electoral Officer
together with all necessary reports and
documents covering the elections in the
constituencies.
The nomination of candidates for
seats in the House of Commons is usually
a dual process. The prospective candi-
date will, as a rele, secure in the first
instance a nomination from one of the
political parties, and this (or any other
form of declaration constituting candidacy)
will, if there is a vacancy in his elec-
toral district, at once make him legally
responsible under the Elections Act for
his conduct as a candidate. -Any twenty-
five qualified Voters may formally nomi-
nate a candidate by signing a nomination
paper giving the name, address, and occu-
pation of the candidate in sufficient
detail to identify him. Ibis nomination
paper must be accompanied by (a) the candi-
date's consent in writing or, if the candi-
date is absent, a statement to that effect
on the nomination paper; and (b) a deposit
of $200. The deposit is intended to dis-
courage irresponsible or flippant candid
dacies, and will be returned if the person
nominated is elected or i f he polls at
least half the number of votes cast in favour
of the successful candidate. If only one
candidate is nominated, he is declared
elected by acclamation. If a candidate
should die after the close of nominations
(which is one or two weeks before election
day) and before the closing of the polls,
another nomination day and election day
shall be set. The names of candidates are
placed on the ballot in alphabetical order
and the address and occupation of each are
added to ensure identification, but the
name of their political parties or any ,
similar designations is omitted. In some
parts of Canada the identification of
candidates is a continuing problem, for
i t i s not unknown for a party faced with
a strong opponent to find another man with
the same name and to nominate him too, in
order to split the strong candidate's
vote •
The General ELection for 31st Parlia-
ment, announced on March 26, 1979 by then
Prime Minister. Mr. Pierre Trudeau, was
held on 22 May, 1979.
The main contesting parties in the
election were Progressive Conservative
Party headed by Joe Clark, liberals headed
by Pierre ELliott Trudeau, New Democratic
Party headed by S3 Broadbent and Sboial
Credit Party. Pierre Trudeau had been
Canada's Prime Minister for more than
eleven years, governing his nation longer
than any contemporary leader in the West.
: 58 :
Mr. Trudeau had become the Symbol of
Canadian federalism who fought hard against
the separatist yearnings of this fellow
French Canadians in his native province
of Quebec. In fact, this was the main
plan of his election campaign. His chief
opponent, Joe Clark who i s relatively un-
known and inexperienced figure in Canadian
polit ics called for lower taxes and reduced
Government spending during the campaign.
At the time of dissolution the posi-
tion of parties in the House of Commons
was as unders-
Frogressive Conservative 95» Liberal
1^1, New Democrat 16, Social .Credit 11,
Independent 1.
In the General Elections held in May,
1979 the position of parties in the House
of Commons wass- Regressive Conservative
135» Liberal 115, New Democrat 26, Social
Credit 6, No independent was returned.
The final results showed that out of
Canada's 1*+.-9 million voters 6(2,2$ of the
population that claims 2hglish as the first
or only language backed dark ' s Conservatives
and French speaking vofeers over-whelraingly
supported Trudeajj1 s Liberals.
The polarization was reflected in the
province by province t a l l i e s . The Liberals
held their own in the impoverished provinces
of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, province Bdward
Island and New Found Land. In Quebec Trudeau
easily recaptured his home riding (district)
in Montreal and the Liberals won a smashing
victory.
An interesting outcome was that due to
their huge majority in Quebec, the Liberals
outpolled the Tories by 39.9$ to 36.1$. Joe
CLark assumed the office of Erirae Minister ship
on h June 1979.
