Thiruvananthapuram(Kerala): As per the directions of the Kerala High Court, the Election Commission has decided to hold elections to the three vacant Rajya Sabha seats in the state on April 30. Voting will commence at 9 am and conclude at 3 pm.
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Nomination papers can be submitted by April 20, which will be scrutinized the next day. Candidates will be given the opportunity to withdraw their nomination by April 23.
Out of the nine Rajya Sabha members from Kerala, Congress leader Vayalar Ravi, CPM member K.K Ragesh and Muslim League leader P.V Abdul Wahab will complete their tenure and retire from the Upper House on April 21.
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Though it was expected that a notification would be issued to elect new members before the term of this Assembly expires, the Election Commission was initially silent on the matter. On a petition filed by CPM MLA S Sharma and Assembly Secretary Unnikrishnan Nair, the Kerala High Court had directed that the Rajya Sabha elections be held by May 2.
The Kerala High Court had on Monday directed the Election Commission to hold the biennial election to the three Rajya Sabha seats before the term of the existing Assembly ends.
The court rejected the Election Commission's contention that voting can be done after the constitution of the new assembly and observed that current members of the legislative assembly will have the right to vote and elect new RS members.
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"When the Commission itself has admitted that it is duty-bound to conduct the election and complete the process at the earliest, it is only appropriate that it takes expeditious steps without further delay to complete the election before another electorate comes into existence on May 2," Justice PV Asha said in the order.
The court delivered the judgement in the pleas filed by the State Legislative Assembly and ruling CPI(M) in the state, challenging the EC's decision to keep in abeyance proceedings for the proposed election to three vacancies from the state in the Rajya Sabha.
In its order, the court noted that the Commission is vested with wide powers and it is incumbent on the Commission to act fairly and legally as Article 324 is geared to the accomplishment of free and fair elections expeditiously.
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"The Commission, which is fully aware of its duty conferred under Article 324 of the Constitution of India in its true spirit, has, therefore, to expedite the proceedings so as to see that the representation in the upper House from the State of Kerala is always in full swing and to avoid situations as pointed out by the learned senior counsel for the petitioners, where the nomination is made by the existing assembly and voting by another assembly," it said.
Last Friday, the Election Commission had informed the Kerala High Court that it had decided to announce and notify the schedule of the biennial election to the three Rajya Sabha seats from Kerala before the expiry of the term of the three MPs on April 21.
In its statement filed in the court, the commission, however, had not mentioned the date of holding the elections to the three Rajya Sabha seats.
