Following a petition seeking a ban on contesting elections from two constituencies, the Election Commission told the Supreme Court on Monday that a candidate ideally should not do so. The court was hearing a petition filed by one Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who sought a prohibition on contesting elections from two constituencies at all levels - Parliament and the state assemblies. Upadhyay has challenged Section 33(7) of the Representation of People Act that allows a person to contest elections from two constituencies. The apex court, following the EC submission, sought the assistance of KK Venugopal in the matter and directed Upadhyay to serve a copy of his plea to the Attorney General. The bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and comprising Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, asked the Centre to submit its views on the issue. It may be recalled that in 2014 the EC had asked the Law Ministry to forbid candidates from contesting from two seats. If not a ban, the EC suggested making the candidates bear the cost of the by-elections necessitated after they vacate a seat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had contested from both Vadodara and Varanasi during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He had vacated his seat from Gujarat after winning from both the seats. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had also vacated his Mainpuri seat and retained Azamgarh in the same elections.
