Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Kooner, who was contesting Rajasthan Assembly Polls later this month passed away during treatment at the AIIMS-Delhi.
Gurmeet Singh Koonar, who was contesting the poll from Karanpur assembly constituency, was admitted to the Geriatric Medicine Ward of AIIMS on November 12. Kooner died of sepsis with septic shock and renal disease on Wednesday.
Koonar, a three-time MLA, was a strong leader of the Congress from Karanpur. He had won the 1998 assembly election on a Congress ticket from Karanpur and in 2008, he reached the assembly as an Independent from the seat. In 2018, the Congress again fielded him from Karanpur and he won.
What Happens When an MLA Candidate Dies Before Election?
According to the Section 52 of the Representation of Peoples Act, if a candidate dies on the last date for making nominations and his nomination is found valid on scrutiny; or if the candidate who has not withdrawn his candidate dies; or a contesting candidate dies before the commencement of the poll, “the returning officer shall announce the adjournment of the poll to a date to be notified later and report the fact to the Election Commission and also to the appropriate authority.”
Therefore, in case of the death of a candidate for legislative assembly, the election to that constituency is cancelled and the Election Commission announces a later date for election to the particular seat.
The voting on Karanpur seat in Rajasthan will not be held on November 25, as per rules, due to the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Kooner. The voting will therefore be held on the remaining 199 seats in Rajasthan on November 25. However, no official announcement has been made so far regarding the cancellation of poll on the seat.
The date of voting for Karanpur seat will be announced on a later date by the Election Commission. However, after voting on the remaining 199 seats of the state, the election results will be declared on December 3.
Has it Happened for the first time?
In the 2018 Rajasthan assembly polls, the election to the Ramgarh assembly constituency in Alwar district was postponed after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Laxman Singh died of cardiac arrest. The polling in 2018 elections was held only on 199 seats instead of 200.
However, in a rare incident, a candidate of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), who died in a road accident during the campaigning, was elected to Andhra Pradesh assembly from Allagadda in Kurnool district in 2014.
Bhuma Shobha Nagi Reddy died two weeks before the elections by defeating her nearest rival G Prabhakar Reddy of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) by nearly 18,000 votes. The Election Commission announced a by-election for the assembly seat.
The Election Commission did not cancel the election on the seat as YSR Congress is not a recognized party. The poll body continued with the election since her name was already included on the ballot paper and she remained a contesting candidate. In such cases, the byelection would only be held if the candidate gets elected.
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