A Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday upheld the ruling of a single-judge Bench allowing Congress legislator Satyadev Katare to take part in the Rajya Sabha elections through postal ballot.
Mr. Katare, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, had urged the Election Commission to allow him to vote through postal ballot in the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for June 11.
He had said he was undergoing treatment in a hospital in Mumbai and was unable to be present in the State capital Bhopal to take part in the elections to Parliament’s Upper House.
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The Election Commission had turned down his request, claiming that there is no such provision in the law.
The Congress leader then appealed to the Madhya Pradesh High Court against the denial of his request. A single-judge Bench of the high court allowed his appeal.
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The Election Commission as well as an Independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha election then, in separate petitions, challenged the ruling of the single-judge Bench.
The Division Bench of the high court on Friday upheld the single judge Bench’s ruling, clearing the way for Mr. Katare to vote by postal ballot
Bhopal: With an aim to ensure victory of Congress nominee Vivek Tankha, lunch and dinner diplomacy besides one-to-one contact with the party legislators is in full swing here.
The polling for the biennial polls will be held on Saturday at the Vidhan Sabha.
Senior Congress leaders and former Union Ministers Kamal Nath and Sushil Kumar Shinde are camping in the state capital to ensure the victory of Mr.Tankha, who is short of just one vote to sail through in the polls.
The Assembly has a total strength of 230 MLAs. BJP had 166 members followed by Congress 57, BSP 4 and Independents 3. –IANS/ PTI