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Elections held to fill a casual vacancy in a legislature before the end of its term, normally within six months of the seat falling vacant.
A by-election, also called a bypoll, is an election held to fill a seat in Parliament or a state legislature that has fallen vacant before the natural end of the House's term. Such a vacancy, arising from the death, resignation or disqualification of a sitting member, or from a member vacating one of two seats won simultaneously, is termed a casual vacancy. Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 requires the Election Commission to fill such vacancies within six months of their occurrence. Crucially, the member elected in a by-election serves only the remainder of the original term, not a fresh full term.
Type: ProcessHeld to fill a casual vacancy arising before the House completes its term
Governed by Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
Must normally be held within six months of the vacancy arising
The winner serves only the unexpired remainder of the original term
Not required if the remainder of the term is less than one year
Also not required if the Election Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, certifies that holding it within the period is difficult
Conducted by the Election Commission of India, as with a general election
Frequency: Electoral law and the Representation of the People Acts are a standing feature of UPSC Prelims and state PSC polity papers
Section 151A, Representation of the People Act, 1951
Requires the Election Commission to fill casual vacancies by by-election within six months, subject to the stated exceptions.
Article 324
Vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission of India.
Article 101 and Article 190
Deal with the vacation of seats in Parliament and in state legislatures respectively, including where a member is elected to two seats.
Tenth Schedule
Provides for disqualification on the ground of defection, one of the ways a casual vacancy can arise.
A by-election follows the same machinery as a general election, compressed into a single constituency.
Step 1: A seat falls vacant through the death, resignation or disqualification of a member, or because a member elected from two seats vacates one
Step 2: The presiding officer of the House notifies the Election Commission of the vacancy
Step 3: The Commission assesses whether more than one year of the term remains and whether the poll can be held within six months
Step 4: If both conditions are met, the Commission announces the schedule and the model code of conduct comes into force in that constituency
Step 5: Polling is held and the winner takes the seat for the unexpired remainder of the original term
By-elections perform a constitutional function that is easy to underrate: they ensure no constituency goes unrepresented for long, which is why the six-month rule is mandatory rather than discretionary. Politically they carry weight out of proportion to the single seat at stake, because they are read as a mid-term verdict on a sitting government and can shift the arithmetic in a narrowly balanced House. The exceptions to the rule have also generated litigation, with High Courts differing over whether the Election Commission may decline a poll purely because less than a year of the term remains — a divergence that leaves the precise scope of the Commission's discretion unsettled.
By-election fills a casual vacancy arising before the end of a House's term
Governed by Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
Must be held within six months of the vacancy
Not required if less than one year of the term remains
Also not required if the ECI, with the Central Government, certifies difficulty
The winner serves only the unexpired remainder of the term
Conducted by the Election Commission under Article 324
Within six months of the vacancy arising, under Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
If the remainder of the member's term is less than one year, or if the Election Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, certifies that holding the poll within the period is difficult.
Only for the unexpired remainder of the original term of the House, not for a fresh full term.
A seat that falls vacant before the House completes its term, through the death, resignation or disqualification of a member, or where a member elected from two seats vacates one.