(1.) This is an election petition under the Representation of the People Act , 1951 ('the Act') calling in question the election of the respondent to the Seventeenth Lok Sabha from Pathanamthitta Parliamentary Constituency.
(2.) The election to the Seventeenth Lok Sabha was announced by the Election Commission of India on 10.03.2019. The election was notified later on 28.03.2019. The last date for filing nominations was 04.04.2019. The polling was held on 23.04.2019. The votes were counted on 23.05.2019 and the respondent, who was the candidate of the United Democratic Front (UDF), was declared elected by a margin of 44,243 votes over his immediate rival Veena George of the Left Democratic Front (LDF).
(3.) The petitioner is an elector in the Pathanamthitta Parliamentary Constituency. He was the Secretary of the election committee of LDF in the said constituency. According to the petitioner, for the various grounds mentioned in the election petition, the election of the respondent is liable to be declared void.