When the seat of a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha or a State Legislative Assembly or a State Legislative Council becomes vacant, or when his or her election is declared void, the constituency from where the member was elected can vote for another person to fill up the vacancy. If the vacancy is in a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, the person to fill that seat must also belong to a Scheduled Caste or Tribe, as the case may be. A by-election to fill up such a vacancy should be held within a period of six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy.
