Section 38
When poll is requiredA poll shall take place in accordance with the provisions of this Act in the case of an election to—
(a) the office of President or Governor of a State, whether or not only one person is validly nominated in respect of such office; and
(b) any other office, if after the expiry of the time for delivery of nomination papers there is more than one person standing nominated.
In an election for a President or a Governor, even if only one candidate has been validly nominated, there will be polls, however for other elections, it will be after the exhaustion of the allowed time limits for nominations and more than one person or candidate has been nominated.
Note that sections 133 and 179 of the Constitution recognises and provides for the procedure to be followed where there may be only a single candidate running for President or Governor.
