Previous Year Question

Under Section 4 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a candidate for a general Lok Sabha seat must be an elector for any Parliamentary constituency in India. This means that the candidate’s name must appear in the electoral roll of a Parliamentary constituency.

The candidate need not be a resident or an elector of the particular constituency from which the election is being contested. A qualified person registered as an elector in one Parliamentary constituency may contest from another Lok Sabha constituency, subject to fulfilling the remaining legal qualifications.

Therefore:

• Option (a) is incorrect: Mere residence in India is insufficient.

• Option (b) is incorrect: Residence in the constituency being contested is not mandatory.

• Option (c) is correct: The person must be an Indian citizen whose name appears in an electoral roll.

• Option (d) is incorrect: Citizenship alone is insufficient; registration as an elector and other statutory qualifications are also required.

The principal qualifications under Article 84 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951 are:

• the person must be a citizen of India;

• the person must be at least 25 years old;

• the person must make the prescribed oath or affirmation of allegiance to the Constitution;

• the person must be a registered elector for a Parliamentary constituency; and

• the person must not be disqualified under the Constitution or a law made by Parliament.

Additional statutory qualifications relating to membership of the relevant reserved community apply when a person contests a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.

Under Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, the nomination of a candidate belonging to a recognised political party ordinarily requires one elector of the constituency as proposer. An independent candidate or a candidate of an unrecognised party requires at least ten electors of that constituency as proposers.