Supreme Court suggests mandatory vote threshold in unopposed elections
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday proposed that a minimum percentage of votes should be mandated even in cases where a candidate is elected unopposed. The two-judge bench, comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N.K. Singh, raised this suggestion while hearing a petition filed by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
The Court questioned whether it would be appropriate to amend election laws to ensure that even unopposed candidates must secure a minimum percentage, 10%, 15% or more, of total votes cast in order to be declared elected.
"Will it not be a very welcome and progressive step where only one candidate is left in the fray, and still you say that you will be declared elected only when you get at least 10%, 15% votes, whatever the number may be," observed Justice Surya Kant, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The petition challenges Section 53(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which currently allows a candidate to be declared elected unopposed in case all other candidates withdraw. The petitioner has urged the Court to either read down or strike down this provision as unconstitutional, at least in its application to direct elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, representing the petitioner, illustrated a hypothetical scenario where four candidates file nominations, but all except one withdraw at the last minute. In such a situation, he argued, voters who may prefer to vote for ‘NOTA’ (None of the Above) are rendered powerless.
Datar emphasized that in a constituency with one lakh voters, even if only 10,000 support the remaining candidate while 25,000 prefer NOTA, the current law denies voters a meaningful choice.
Justice Kant responded by highlighting the spirit of the Constitution, which upholds majority-based democracy. "Our Constitution, and we salute it, is one of the most dynamic… It says that democracy is by majority… So why not, in furtherance of achieving that very goal, we prescribe that even in a default direction, there should be at least some voters who are liking you," he said.
The Court directed the Centre and the Election Commission of India to examine whether such a reform could be incorporated into electoral law, ensuring greater voter engagement and legitimacy even in uncontested elections.
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LIVE | Election Results of five states 2026
New Delhi: The countdown has begun for the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states that have captured the attention of people across the country.
The counting of votes for the Assembly constituencies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry will begin simultaneously at 8 am, and the fate of candidates in a total of 824 constituencies will be decided shortly.
The counting of postal ballots will take place first, followed by the counting of EVM votes in several rounds.
► DMK candidate in Thiruchirapalli KN Nehru behind TVK's G Ramamoorthi by 292 votes
► The BJP has taken an early lead in West Bengal, while Mamata Banerjee faces tough competition
► TVK head Vijay leads in Perambur constituency
► M. K. Stalin is leading in Tamil Nadu’s Kolathur constituency.
► AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami is leading in Tamil Nadu’s Edappadi constituency
► In Puducherry, BJP is leading in 3 seats.
► In Assam, BJP is leading in 56 seats, while Congress is leading in 12 seats.
► Suvendhu Adhikari leads in both Bhabanipur and Nandigram
► West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee faces setback in Bhabanipur constituency
► Bhupen Borah, who recently left Congress and joined the BJP, is leading in Assam’s Bihpuria constituency
► Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is leading in Jalukabari constituency
► BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is leading in West Bengal’s Nandigram constituencyFive-state elections: Postal vote counting begins
► TMC, BJP lead in one seat each in West Bengal
► In Tamil Nadu, DMK leads in 3 constituencies, while TVK leads in 1
► UDF leads in 5 seats in Kerala, BJP in 1, LDF in 1
► BJP leads in 2 seats, AIUDF in 1 in Assam
► AINRC leads in 1 constituency in Puducherry
► TMC leads in 5 seats in West Bengal; Mamata Banerjee’s party maintains initial lead
► Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin leads in Kolathur
► BJP takes early lead in Assam
► Congress-led UDF leads in Kerala
► Tamil Nadu, TVK chief Vijay leads in the Perambur constituency, lags in Tiruchirappalli South
► BJP leads in 10 seats in Assam
► LDF candidate V.P.P. Mustafa leads in the Thrikkaripur Assembly constituency
► Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, BJP is leading in 14 seats, TMC in 12 seats, Congress in 2 seats
► Out of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading in 15 seats, AIADMK is leading in 5 seats, TVK is leading in 2 seats
► Out of 126 seats in Assam, BJP is leading in 31 seats, Congress in 4 seats, AIUDF in 2 seats.
► Out of 30 seats in Puducherry, NRC+ is leading in 3 seats, Congress in 2 seats, TVK in 1 seat.
► Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suffers a setback in theBerhampore constituency in West Bengal.
