ECI has discretion to announce bypolls any time within six months of seat falling vacant, experts say

Published 3 July 2026 · local

The Election Commission announced byelections in only three Assembly seats — one each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat — on Thursday, though there are

The Election Commission announced byelections in only three Assembly seats — one each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat — on Thursday, though there are currently at least 14 vacant seats in State legislatures across the country, apart from six vacant Parliamentary seats, three each in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Representation of People Act mandates bypolls within six months of a seat falling vacant, but experts said the ECI has the discretionary power to choose at which point during these six months to conduct the polls. The courts have generally shown deference to the ECI’s decisions in electoral matters, they said. The RPA Act also carves out two exceptions to this si month rule: where the remainder of the term is less than one year, or where the Election Commission, in consultation with the Union government, certifies that it is difficult to hold the byelection within the prescribed period. However, through judicial interpretation, a third exception has been recognised — when there is a pending election petition concerning that vacant seat. Too fast, too slow Opposition parties have repeatedly questioned the “hurry” and “delay” in announcing bypolls. For instance, the ECI’s announcement of a bypoll in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia Assembly seat on Thursday led to protests from the Congress, which questioned the “hurry” of the poll body.

The seat had fallen vacant after the disqualification of the Congress’s Rajendra Bharti in April, following his conviction in a fraud case. He has challenged the verdict in the Delhi High Court and sought a stay. His plea is scheduled to be heard on July 8 and bypolls are scheduled for July 30. According to legal experts, the ECI can go ahead with its schedule for bypolls until and unless the court grants a stay. “Till the court gives a stay on holding a byelection, the ECI can announce bypolls anytime within a si month time frame, even if a case is pending,” senior Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde told The Hindu. ‘Stalling to benefit the BJP’ The Congress, while protesting the hurried announcement of the Datia bypoll, is also pointing to the delay in holding a byelection for Uttar Pradesh’s Milkipur Assembly seat which was vacated following the election of the Samajwadi Party’s Awadesh Prasad to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general election. The Opposition SP had accused the ECI of stalling the bypoll to give the BJP time to strategise and redeem its reputation after suffering significant setbacks in the Lok Sabha polls. In this case, however, an election petition by the BJP candidate was pending in the Allahabad High Court and the bypoll was scheduled only in February 2025, after the petition in the High Court was eventually withdrawn.