Skip to content Skip to navigation

By-polls: Burden on taxpayers for making Parliamentarians out of Legislators

By Nava Thakuria |

The recently concluded by-polls for 48 legislative assembly constituencies in 14 States (along with two Parliamentary constituencies in Kerala and Maharashtra) divulged an important fact that no less than  41 assembly seats needed  the special elections as those were vacated by the respective legislators after they were elected to the lower house of Indian Parliament. The representatives of different political parties (irrespective of their ideologies or position in the governments) participated in the last general elections and succeeded to be  lawmakers in the 18th Lok Sabha.

One may wonder how all these members of State legislative assemblies turned Parliamentarians became so essential for the concerned political parties to achieve electoral successes in the 2024 nationwide elections that embraced over 968 million electorates. Was it not possible for the party leaderships to pick up fresh candidates with a higher percentage of winnability (and allowing the legislators to complete their terms) for the LS polls? Should it have been a wise practice for them to help the government (read millions of direct & indirect taxpayers) in saving a huge volume of electoral expenditure to fill the space created by those newly elected Parliamentarians!

The statistics presented by the Election Commission of India (ECI) confirm that  except seven assembly constituencies (two each in Rajasthan  and Sikkim, one each in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh) all other seats became vacant as their representatives shifted their working space to New Delhi after electoral successes. Rajasthan reported the death of two legislators in  Salumber and Ramgarh seats, where another MLA passed away in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath constituency. Disqualification of a  legislator necessitated the by-polls in Sishamau (Uttar Pradesh). In Sikkim, by-polls became necessary as its government chief  Prem Singh Tamang vacated one seat to continue with Rhenock constituency. Amazingly, Namchi-Singhithang seat was deserted by CM’s wife Krishna Kumari Rai (reasons best known to her only) soon after taking the oath. Finally Vijaypur (Madhya Pradesh) legislator changed his party affiliation ensuring an obligatory resignation.

Out of nine assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, which went to by-polls recently, eight seats were vacated by the legislators to become Parliamentarians. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, Akhilesh Yadav marched to Lok Sabha leaving Karhal seat vacant. Another SP leader Ziaur Rehman left the Kundarki seat after successful LS elections. Katehari seat was deserted by  SP leader Lalji Verma and  Chandan Chauhan (RLD) left Meerapur seat.  Similarly,  Ghaziabad seat was abandoned by Atul Garg (Bharatiya Janata Party) whereas Vinod Kumar Bind left  Majhawan seat. BJP legislator Anoop Pradhan Balmiki vacated Khair and Praveen Patel (BJP) left the Phulpur seat.

In Rajasthan, five assembly seats were abandoned by sitting legislators to fight LS elections successfully and thus compelled  the ECI to conduct by-polls. Jhunjhunu assembly seat was vacated by Brijendra Singh Ola (Indian National Congress) after LS polls. Another Congress legislator Harish Chandra Meena  vacated the Deoli-Uniara seat  and  Murari Lal Meena left the Dausa seat. RLP chief Hanuman Beniwal left Khinwsar seat and  Raj Kumar Roat (BAP) vacated Chorasi.

By-polls in all six constituencies of  West Bengal, where the assembly elections are due within two years, became necessary as the respective legislators successfully participated in the 2024 national elections. Trinamool Congress representative Jagdish Chandra Basunia vacated Sitai seat and  Manoj Tigga (BJP) left Madarihat seat. Partha Bhowmick (TMC) vacated the Naihati seat and another TMC legislator Sk Nurul Islam abandoned Haroa seat. June Maliah (TMC) left Medinipur seat and another party man Arup Chakraborty vacated the Taldangra seat. Punjab also witnessed four sitting MLAs joining the Lok Sabha. Gidderbaha seat was vacated by Congress legislator  Raja Warring and another Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa abandoned the Dera Baba Nanak seat. Raj Kumar Chabbewal (AAP) left Chabbewal  and another AAP leader Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer vacated the Barnala seat. 

Similarly, Bihar that is awaiting assembly elections by next year  embraced by-polls to fill up four assembly seats as the legislators shifted their working space to New Delhi.  Sudama Prasad (CPI-ML-L) vacated Tarari  seat  and  Sudhakar Singh (Rashtriya Janata Dal) left  Ramgarh seat. Similarly, Imamganj seat was abandoned by Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM-Secular) and Belganj seat was vacated by RJD’s Surendra Prasad Yadav.

Three assembly seats in Karnataka were also vacated by sitting MLAs inviting the by-polls. Basavaraj Bommai (BJP) left Shiggaon seat, whereas E Tukaram (INC) vacated Sandur seat. Channapatna seat was relinquished by HD Kumaraswamy (JD-S). Two seats in Kerala fell vacant as both the legislators participated fruitfully in LS polls. Congress leader Shafi Parambil vacated Palakkad seat and K Radhakrishnan (CPM) left  Chelakkara seat. In Madhya Pradesh, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (BJP) vacated Budhni seat. Raipur City South assembly constituency of Chhattisgarh was vacated by Brijmohan Agrawal (BJP).  Vav assembly seat of  Gujarat was left by Geniben Nagaji Thakor (INC).

Five  seats of Assam, where  assembly elections are due in 2026, along with one assembly constituency of Meghalaya also went for by-polls as all the legislators were elected to Lok Sabha. Samaguri seat was vacated by Congress legislator Rakibul Hussain, whereas BJP’s Parimal Suklabaidya left Dholai seat. Another BJP legislator  Ranjit Dutta abandoned the Behali seat and Sidli  seat was vacated by Jayanta Basumatary (United Peoples’ Party-Liberal). Asom Gana Parishad legislator Phani Bhusan Choudhury vacated the Bongaigaon seat. Meghalaya’s Gambegre assembly constituency was deserted by Congress leader Saleng A Sangma.

The question that arises,  should not these statistics indicate clearly that the recent by-polls could have been limited to less than seven assembly constituencies if  the politicians had behaved responsively? Not sure if the pertinent issue will be addressed by the proposed ‘one nation, one election’ initiative of the central government  for simultaneous elections in  Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies and local government bodies across the country. Is it the time for the electorates to come above their loyalty, affiliation or inclination  to any political party and  stand unitedly asking for a colossal electoral reform in the largest democracy of the globe?

Author info

Nava Thakuria's picture

Senior journalist based in Guwahati.
  • 15040 reads

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Polling begins in Bangladesh for 13th Jatiya Sansad election

Amid high security arrangements across the country, polling begins this morning at 7:30 am for the highly projected 13th Jatiya Sansad election in Bangladesh, where over 2000 candidates representing 50 political parties along with many independent contestants are in the fray. The Muslim majority nation has over  12.77 crore registered voters including 6.27 crore women and 1,232 third-genders, who are voting for electing   299 representatives (out of 300 seats in the national assembly). Over 42,000 polling centres will facilitate the electorates to exercise their franchise (through  ballots in person) till 4:30 pm (on 12 February 2026). The election will be conducted...

Bangladesh election, media’s projection, safety, etc

As Bangladesh heads for 13th Parliamentary election and  the referendum on  July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), the interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests to prioritize greater interest of the Muslim majority nation regardless of the poll-outcomes. Addressing the nation of over 170 million people ahead of the much watched electoral exercises, Nobel peace laureate  Dr Yunus commented that victory as well as defeat is an integral part of democracy and hence after the election, they should dedicate themselves to build a new, just, democratic, and inclusive...

Press Council without Chairperson, incomplete 15th council, etc

Is it possible to have a quasi-judicial body like the Press Council of India to survive for weeks without its chairperson? Should the largest democracy on Earth put such an example where its government recognized autonomous media watchdog faces an existential crisis as the 15th council of PCI still devoid of a functioning head and 13 seats? How come a press council runs its business without filling these 13 seats, meant for millions of media professionals, for more than a year now, whereas the term of a council is limited to three years only? Many such pertinent questions  emerge among media professionals in the   south Asian nation, as the regular three-year term (as well as...

Unceremonious departure of a popular Assamese weekly

Amid an existential crisis in the Guwahati-based Assam Tribune group of newspapers, which worsened after the Covid-19 pandemic, a popular Assamese weekly newspaper lost its publication in the latter part of 2025. Asom Bani, once a mainstream weekly for Assamese readers for decades, stopped hitting the stands from September last year, as the management lost interest in continuing its printing every Friday. Even though the seven-decade-old Assamese-language weekly was lost from the media market, the management did not make any statement about Asom Bani’s fate. Prior to its departure, the weekly was merged with Dainik Asom, an acclaimed Assamese daily from the prestigious media house, as its...

Why not Hasina tendering an apology to Hindus!

Bangladesh, which recently witnessed turmoil following the demise of a young radical leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi amid anti-India rhetoric, now gradually returns to normalcy, as the south Asian nation also prepares for its next general election scheduled  for 12 February 2026. The highly sought after polls, as the sitting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina faced an overthrow in the backdrop of a student-led mass uprising in July-August 2024, however misses the participation of Hasina’s party Awami League, which used to rule the Muslim majority country of 170 million people for several years. The ousted premier along with thousands of  her party men continue to stay in neighbouring...

India’s 15th Press Council without journo-members !

It may be amazing but true, that the largest democracy on Earth continues waiting for a fully functioning government-sponsored media watchdog for more than a year now. Press Council of India (PCI), a quasi-judicial body, which was initiated to safeguard and nurture the freedom of press in the country, remains almost a non-functioning entity as the term of PCI’s 14th council  expired on 5 October 2024. Since then various initiatives to constitute the statutory 15th council to carry forward its prescribed activities confronted different hurdles. Currently the PCI has its chairperson and secretary along with only five members representing Rajya Sabha, University Grants Commission, Bar...

When Justice-for-Zubeen campaign gains momentum

An initial sadness and grief following the unforeseen death of Assam’s cultural icon in Singapore at only 53 have slowly turned into outrages with a sole demand for justice to  Zubeen Garg, as millions of his fans and admirers got convinced that something wrong had happened to their prince of melody during an unplanned sea-yacht outing in the southeast Asian nation. The heart-breaking news that brought the India’s north-eastern State with  3.3 million people to a standstill turning its capital city into a sea of humans weeping, sobbing, crying and exclaiming why Zubeen was put to die in the islands nation, thousands kilometer away from his motherland, on 19 September 2025. The...

Goodbye, prince of melody…..

The heartbroken news arrived from Singapore in multiple media outlets, which baffled the people of Assam, but immediately in outrages among the young generation, who were born in eastern India and brought up with the melodious voice of iconic singer Zubeen Garg. The sadness and melancholy soon turned into outrages with a vital question, why Zubeen was taken to Singapore as he  was not physically well for months. Millions of his fans were annoyed when they encountered some clippings of videos on social media, where the singing sensation was seen swimming in the seawater (without a life-jacket), whereas he was cautioned by the doctors in Guwahati to avoid the fire and water body. The...

Demand for OPS instead of NPS raised

Guwahati: Since 1  February  2005, Assam government has implemented the National Pension Scheme (NPS) for the government employees. All Assam Government NPS Employees’ Association terms it an anti-employee policy and a mockery in the name of pension. The Union government, instead of restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), has taken initiatives  to replace the NPS with a new one named Universal Pension Scheme (UPS). The third biennial conference of the association, held on 24 August at Rupnagar in the city strongly opposed this move and demanded the reintroduction of the OPS. President Achyutananda Hazarika and general secretary Apurba Sharma announced that from next month...

Two weeks of Bhatiapar gas leakage, PCBA’s notice to ONGC, and others

The natural gas leakage from Bhatiapar  crude oil well continues for 15 days, even though  the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) along with an expert team from USA continue working for full dousing of the RDS-147A under  Rudrasagar oilfield in Sivasagar district of eastern Assam. The blowout began on 12 June 2025 and uncontrolled leakage compelled nearly 350 families to leave their places for safety reasons. Besides the local villagers living near the old well, the high pressure gas flow impacted the surrounding environment heavily. Lately, the ONGC issued a statement claiming that ‘a significant progress in controlling the well at RDS 147A’ was made. It also added the...