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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Kangana Ranaut deletes post about Trump, regrets sharing 'very personal opinion'
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI): Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut on Thursday said she has deleted her post about US President Donald Trump and regrets sharing her "very personal opinion" on social media.
Ranaut said she deleted the post after she received a call from BJP national president JP Nadda.
"Respected national president Shri @JPNadda ji called and asked me to delete the tweet I had posted regarding Trump asking Apple CEO Tim Cook not to manufacture in India.
"I regret posting that very personal opinion of mine, as per instructions I immediately deleted it from Instagram as well," Ranaut, who is BJP's from Mandi, wrote on X.
Trump, who is in Qatar as part of his four-day visit to the Gulf region, on Thursday said he had told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he does not want him to build iPhones in India.
Respected national president Shri @JPNadda ji called and asked me to delete the tweet I had posted regarding Trump asking Apple CEO Tim Cook not to manufacture in India.
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) May 15, 2025
I regret posting that very personal opinion of mine, as per instructions I immediately deleted it from…
