The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, which became vacant yesterday after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament, might see a byelection as early as September.
Mr. Gandhi was disqualified after being convicted in a slander case and sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Gujarat’s Surat on Thursday. The Congress leader was given bail for 30 days so that he may appeal the conviction.
Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act of 2015 says that bylections must be held within six months after a seat in Parliament or a state legislature becomes vacant.
This Act opened the path for Mr. Gandhi’s expulsion as an MP. According to Section 8(3) of the Act, an MP is disqualified if she or he is convicted and punished for at least two years.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat informed Mr. Gandhi of his disqualification yesterday, and it is now up to the Election Commission to set bylection dates.
According to its website, there are three empty Lok Sabha seats right now: Jalandhar, Lakshadweep, and Wayanad.
Mr. Gandhi lost his Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 and was elected to his second seat, Wayanad.
The defamation suit stems from his claimed comments at a pre-election rally in Karnataka’s Kolar in 2019 that “how come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” A former Gujarat minister filed a lawsuit, stating that Mr. Gandhi slandered the whole Modi community.
According to his team, Mr. Gandhi, who was convicted and punished in the case, seeks to dispute the local court’s ruling before a sessions court.
Today at 1 p.m., Mr. Gandhi will hold a news conference.
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