Election Commission 'Not In A Hurry' For Wayanad Bypoll Amid Rahul Gandhi's Disqualification

The Election Commission on Wednesday (29 March) refrained from announcing bypolls for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, which fell vacant after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lower House membership following his conviction and two-year jail sentence in a defamation case.

The poll body announced the schedule for assembly elections for Karnataka, where polling will be held on 10 May and the vote counting will be on 13 May.

The EC also announced bypolls in Parliamentary constituency of Jalandhar (Punjab) and Assembly constituencies of Jharsuguda (Odisha), Chhanbey (Uttar Pradesh), Suar (UP), and Sohiong (Meghalaya).

However, the poll body did not announce the widely anticipated dates for election to the Wayanad seat.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar informed reporters that all vacancies until February have been cleared.

The current vacancy for Wayanad was notified in March.

"A 30-day period has been given for appeal. We are not in a hurry," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.

According to the Representation of People Act, 1951, By-poll for a seat needs to be held within six months of a vacancy.