<h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(230, 0, 0);">Section 33(7) of RP Act, 1951</strong></h1><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h3><strong>Context&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">The Supreme Court<strong> refused to set aside a provision in the election law</strong> that allows candidates to contest polls from two constituencies simultaneously.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">The petition by an individual had sought a declaration that <strong>Section 33(7) of the Re­presentation of the People Act is invalid.</strong></li></ul><h3><br></h3><h3><strong>About&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">As per Section 33(7) of the RPA (Representation of the People Act), 1951, one candidate can contest from a maximum of two constituencies.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">More constituencies were allowed until 1996 when the RPA was amended to set the cap at two constituencies.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Since 1951, <strong>many politicians have used this factor to contest from more than one seat –</strong> sometimes to divide the opponent’s vote, sometimes to profess their party’s power across the country, sometimes to cause a ripple effect in the region surrounding the constituencies in favour of the candidate’s party and all parties have exploited Section 33(7).</li></ul><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><p><br></p><h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong>PRELIMS NOTES:</strong><a href="https://sunyaias.in/notes/prelims-2023" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);"><strong>CLICK HERE</strong></a></h1>