Election Commission of India (ECI), under Sections 58(2) and 58A(2) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (RPA), declared void the poll on April 19, in 11 polling stations of Manipur, and 8 polling stations of Arunachal Pradesh. Repolls were conducted on April 22 and April 24 respectively. Elections were also adjourned in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul Lok Sabha constituency due to the death of a candidate on April 9. The polling, originally scheduled on April 26, will now be held on May 7.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF POLLING DISRUPTION

  • Intentional destruction, taking away of EVMs:
Under Section 58 of the RPA (‘Fresh poll in the case of destruction, etc., of ballot boxes’), the EC can declare the poll at a polling station to be void if:
    • An unauthorised person has unlawfully taken away any EVM;
    • Any EVM has been accidentally or intentionally destroyed, or lost, or damaged, or tampered with.
    • A mechanical failure develops in any EVM during the recording of votes.
  • Booth capturing
Booth-capturing, defined in Section 135A of the RPA, includes all or any of the following activities by any person or persons:
    • Seizure of a polling station, affecting the conduct of elections;
    • Taking possession of a polling station, allowing only his or their supporters to vote;
    • Intimidating or threatening any elector and preventing him from going to the polling station;
    • Seizure of a counting place affecting the counting of votes;
    • Involvement of any person in government service in any of the above activities.
Booth capturing is punishable for a term of not less than one year, which may extend to three years for lay people, and not less than three years, extending 5 years for govt. servants. OPTIONS WITH EC TO COUNTER BOOTH CAPTURING The EC can take the following measures in case of booth capturing:
  1. Declare the poll at that polling station to be void and direct a fresh poll on a new date; or
  2. Countermand the election in the constituency in case booth capturing has taken place in a large number of polling stations, or if it has affected the counting of votes.
  • Natural Disasters:
The Presiding Officer of a polling station can adjourn the poll at a polling station under section 57(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in case of:
    • A natural calamity like a flood, a severe storm;
    • Non-receipt or loss or damage to essential polling materials like EVM, electoral roll etc;
    • Interruption or obstruction due to any riot or, open violence;
    • Non-arrival of the polling party due to obstruction or any other serious difficulty;
    • Non-commencement of the poll within two hours from the scheduled time due to malfunctioning of EVM, or any other reason.
After seeking the EC’s approval on the date and hours, the adjourned poll will recommence from the stage at which it was left immediately before adjournment.
  • Death of a candidate:
As per Section 52 of RPA, amended in 1996, the poll shall be adjourned only in case of the death of a recognised political party’s candidate.
    • A “recognised political party” refers to either a recognised national party, or party recognised as a state party in the state concerned, for which the EC reserves a symbol under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order.
The above provision applies if the candidate with a valid nomination dies at any time after 11.00 a.m. on the last date for making nominations, until the commencement of the poll. In Betul, the candidate’s death occurred one day after the last day for withdrawing candidature. Therefore, the polls were adjourned. WHAT IF THE DEATH HAPPENS AFTER POLLING? In the Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency, the candidate died after voting, in which case a by-election will be held if he emerges as the winner of the seat after counting.