Wayanad constituency to remain vacant as EC delays by-polls following Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

By-polls date for Wayanad Lok Sabha not announced by ECI.

The Election Commission of India on March 29 announced the poll schedule for several constituencies in various states, but there was no mention of by-polls for the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, which is currently vacant after the disqualification of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.

According to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, the Commission has cleared the vacancies until February 2023, while the Wayanad parliamentary constituency was notified in March. However, Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act mandates the EC to fill the vacancies through bye-elections within six months.

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The CEC stated that the Commission is not in a hurry to hold the by-polls and thirty days have been given for the appeal. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat announced Gandhi’s disqualification through a notification on March 24 following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case by a Surat court that sentenced him to two years in prison.

Gandhi was also served another notice on March 27, three days after his disqualification, asking him to vacate the official bungalow in New Delhi that was allotted to him for being a Member of Parliament within a month's period.