The recent by-elections to the different state legislative assemblies have been a mixed bag of fortune for different political parties. A more realistic interpretation of the results

becomes possible when they are interpreted state-wise. It would be important to record that by-elections are often not a reflection of the performance of either the Central or state governments. These results are often guided by specific local circumstances in which that by-election was held and the factors that caused the by elections. The by-elections held to the 49 seats in 11 state legislatures in recent weeks bear testimony to this fact.

By-elections are caused by a clutch of factors. The seat may have fallen vacant as a result of the death of the sitting legislator. Alternatively the resignation of the MLA either on his/ her election to another representative body or on their shifting party loyalties and thus vacating the seat could necessitate a by-election. Often legislators are known to resign their seat to permit a senior party leader to get elected to the legislature.

Finally, a seat could fall vacant as a result of the disqualification of a sitting member. In the recent round of by-elections most of the seats fell vacant as a result of the sitting MLAs resigning their seats on their election to the Lok Sabha.

It has been noticed that when a by-election is held on the death of a legislator, the party to which the MLA belonged often nominates his/ her close relation to contest the by-poll. In most cases, the sympathy factor works in favour of the relation so nominated. The recent by-election in Andhra Pradesh is a case in point. Thus, the result is clearly limited to the specific circumstances in that particular constituency and is not a referendum on either the state or Central government.

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