Term of 16th Lok Sabha is upto 3rd June, 2019

The section 151A of the Representation of the People Act of 1951 mandates the Election Commission of India (ECI) to fill the casual vacancies in the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures through bye elections within six months from the date of occurence of the vacancy. But, this is only if the remainder of the term of a member who is newly elected is one year or more. The term of 16th Lok Sabha is upto 3rd June, 2019. Therefore, it is understood that some newspapers have reported that the ECI on the one hand announced the bye elections to fill the 3 casual vacancies in Lok Sabha from Karnataka while the bye elections to fill 5 vacancies in LS from Andhra Pradesh have not been announced. As the vacancies from Karnataka have occurred more than one year before the expiration of the term of House, bye elections are required to be held under Section 151A of R. P. Act 1951 to fill these vacancies within 6 months from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 18th& 21st May, 2018. In the case of vacancies from Andhra Pradesh, there is no need to hold bye elections as the remaining term of the Lok Sabha is less than one year from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 20th June, 2018.