CHENNAI: The two assembly constituencies in the state that are now vacant may not see by-elections and are likely to go unrepresented until the assembly polls next year. This is mainly because the by-elections were made impossible in the last few months due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. And now, with only a year left in the term of the present house, the by-polls need not be conducted, as per the election rules.
The two assembly seats that are vacant are Tiruvottiyur and Gudiyatham. The MLAs of these two constituencies, KPP Samy and S Kathavayaranan, died on successive days on February 27 and 28. As per the Representation of People Act, by-elections for vacant seats must be conducted within six months. However, with the scare over the novel coronavirus, there seem to be no efforts taken to conduct the by-polls. Now there is less than a year left for the term of the present Assembly as it comes to an end in May 2021. According to the Act, the election need not be conducted if less than a year is left in the term of the Assembly.
Political observers say not having an elected representative will have certain implications for the people of the constituency. Interestingly, Gudiyattam constituency, which once was represented by late Chief Minister K Kamaraj, had a representative only for two-and-half years since the 2016 assembly polls. This is because Jayanthi Padmanaban, who won on an AIADMK ticket in 2016, was disqualified by the Speaker in September 2017 for defecting from the ruling party. After a prolonged delay, the election was conducted in April 2019 when Kathavarayan from the DMK won the seat.
Tharasu Shyam, a veteran journalist and political observer, told The New Indian Express, "Not having an elected representative in a democracy is a loss of its essence. The people would lose a voice to represent them. People can approach the MLA regarding issues they face and even if the MLA is in the opposition party, he or she can help to highlight the issues."
In addition, the by-polls often help political parties gauge the public mood ahead of the assembly elections.