THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, Jan. 9: BJP State President and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi today led a delegation to the Raj Bhawan and discussed the letters he sent a few days back related to the constitutional crisis that would arise in the event of a Gandey Assembly by-election.
State General Secretary Dr Pradeep Verma and Balmukund Sahay were also included in the delegation.
Resignation under pressure
Talking to the media after the meeting, Marandi said that an MLA from the ruling party who was representing the Gandey Assembly constituency was pressurised by Chief Minister Hemant Soren to resign his seat.
He said Sarfaraz Ahmed is entirely healthy and is not leaving the country. “Hence, his resignation is not without reason. Soren wants to make his wife Kalpana Soren the chief minister on the lines of Lalu Prasad before his jail visit,” he pointed out.
He said that a by-election cannot be conducted in Jharkhand due to the resignation given by Gandey’s MLA. “Under Section 151A, Representation of the People Act, 1951, by-elections cannot be held if there is less than a year left for the general elections,” he added.
Supreme Court on by-poll
He said that the Supreme Court, in its decision (Pramod Laxman Gudhade vs Election Commission of India), has made it clear that if the general elections are to be held within a year, then by-elections cannot be held.
“The Assembly elections in Jharkhand are scheduled for December 2024. The process starts from September to October. Therefore, by-elections cannot be conducted in the light of Section 151A, Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Supreme Court,” he added.
Calculating vacancy term
He said that the day the appointed returning officer of the assembly constituency declares the results of the assembly elections to the Election Commission and makes it public from which party and how many MLAs have been elected, that date is considered the date of election of the MLA.
“The formation of the government and the assembly session happened a few days later; it has nothing to do with it,” he maintained.
He said that the state’s ruling coalition is trying to mislead the people of the state and the Election Commission.
Marandi also requested the Governor forward the letter to the Election Commission.