Chances of disqualification of 2 Independents remote

KS Tomar

Under the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law and subsequent joining of BJP by two independents Hoshiyar Singh and Prakash Rana, the chances of disqualification seem remote as the Congress has not substantiated its complaint with documents which are mandatory to initiate any action against them.

In a related development, Speaker Vidhan Sabha Vipin Parmar has confirmed the receipt of the complaints which are being minutely studied prior to initiating any action. The Speaker made it clear that it will be obligatory for the complainants to substantiate the allegation with the help of documents and evidence which has not been done so far.

The constitutional experts say that any independent MP or MLA attracts the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law only if the documents are available to prove their action of joining any political party. Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri has written a letter to the Speaker and demanded immediate disqualification of two independents. He said joining of two independents took place in front of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and state president Suresh Kashyap what else is required as an evidence.

State HPCC chief Pratibha Singh and chairman of campaign committee Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu have described defection as illegal and inaction by the Speaker would undermine the sanctity of the Constitution of India.

As per experts “the Anti-Defection Law after 91 Constitutional Amendment, 2003 says “an independent Member of Parliament or a state legislature shall be disqualified if he or she joins any political party after his or her election. The Supreme Court has also delivered verdicts from time to time to check such malpractice in other states and at the Centre.

In this complex scenario, opposition leaders are pessimistic about any drastic action against both independents as they allege that procedures will be intentionally dragged on to protect their membership, especially when barely four months are left for the declaration of poll dates by the Election Commission of India.

The term of the current Vidhan Sabha will expire in December 2022 and elections must be completed prior to this deadline. The complaints will automatically become redundant and infructuous whenever election process is initiated by the Election Commission of India.

As per data and assessment of the BJP high command, the new entrants may have better prospects of winning the seats, especially after the addition of the party’s support base to their personal vote bank. Hoshiyar Singh (24,206) had defeated official BJP candidate Ravinder Ravi (20,292) in Dehra constituency in Hamirpur district by a margin of 3,914 votes. Similarly, Prakash Rana (31,214) won Jogindernagar segment in Mandi by 6635 votes by defeating Gulab Singh (24,579) in the 2017 Assembly elections.

Observers say that as per estimation and optimism of the BJP, if party’s vote bank is added to the personal popularity of Hoshiyar Singh then the total votes will go up to 44,498 in Dehra (24,206 of Singh + 20,292 of BJP). On the same analogy, Rana polled 24,206 votes whereas BJP candidate Gulab Singh got 20,292 votes but figure may assume a new dimension of 55,593 votes in Jogindernagar after party’s support.

In case BJP’s defeated candidates, Ravi and Gulab Singh did not get tickets and contest as ‘rebels’ then the outcome will depend upon the transfer of BJP votes to the two new entrants which sounds a risky proposal. But rebels can definitely mar the chances of victory of the BJP which will primarily depend upon the extent of damage inflicted on official nominees.