As the Assembly elections in Haryana are slated to be held next year, political parties are zeroing in on their best path to victory. With the demise of BJP MP Rattan Lal Kataria in May, the Ambala parliamentary seat is now lying vacant, necessitating bypolls on the seat ahead of the 2024 general elections.
At present, it remains to be seen whether the by-election for the seat will indeed be held. On this matter, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, states that elections are to be conducted by the Election Commission of India on the seat vacated within a time limit of six months following the death, resignation, and cancellation of the election or disqualification of a sitting member of the Lok Sabha concerned- provided that the Lok Sabha election not be less than a year away. Currently, there is one year and 28 days left before the Lok Sabha elections. However, the consent of the state government plays a crucial role in conducting by-elections on any seat, keeping the law and order situation in the state in mind.
After the parliamentary elections held in 2019, the Ambala seat witnessed an increase of around 1.5 lakh voters and at present, the number of voters in the Ambala parliamentary seat stands close to 20 lakh. A total of nine assembly segments fall in the Ambala Lok Sabha seat and the list includes Ambala City, Ambala Cantt, Narayangarh, Kalka Mullana (reserved), and Panchkula and Sadhaura (reserved), Jagadhri and Yamunanagar assembly constituencies of Ambala while the fourth Radaur constituency of Ambala falls under Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency. It is pertinent to mention that Ambala Lok Sabha seat has been a reserved seat for Scheduled Castes (SC) since 1962, before Haryana State came into existence following its separation from Punjab in 1966.
Political experts are of the opinion that results of the Ambala by-election will have far reaching political implications on the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Ram Narayan Yadav, Additional Secretary (Retired) of the Haryana Legislative Assembly and former advisor to the Punjab Government, has written a letter to the Election Commission opposing the potential by-elections, referencing several instances of the same nature.
In 1995, the Supreme Court had said in the Election Commission vs Government of India case that instead of by-elections, the path of an alternative system can also be chosen.
In another case, the Supreme Court in the Election Commission vs Haryana Government case said that it is necessary to know the on-ground realities before conducting by-elections. Further, Ram Narayan Yadav said that on the issue of shortening the tenure of the Parliament in 1949, Bhima Rao Ambedkar had said that conducting elections is not an easy task as it puts economic burden on state exchequer along with the use of resources and machinery.