Section 33 OF RP Act (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: The ruling party’s candidate from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat has been declared elected unopposed when the opposition’s nomination was rejected.

Nomination Requirements (Section 33 of RP Act)

• About: It contains the requirements for a valid nomination.
• Eligibility Criteria: An elector above 25 years of age can contest Lok Sabha election from any constituency in India.
• Proposer's Requirement: The proposer(s) must be elector(s) from the respective constituency where the nomination is filed.

o A candidate from a recognized party (national or State) needs only one proposer.

o Candidates from unrecognised parties and independents require ten proposers.

• Multiple Nominations: A candidate can file up to four nomination papers with different sets of proposers to ensure acceptance even if one set is in order.
• The issue: In absence of any fair nomination of the opposition, left the ruling party’s nominee as the sole candidate in the race and was declared winner.

Nomination Scrutiny (Section 36 RP Act)

• Scrutiny Procedure: Section 36 outlines the process for scrutiny of nomination papers by the Returning Officer (RO).
• Rejection Criteria: The RO cannot reject nominations for non-substantial defects but can reject if the signature of the candidate or proposer is found not genuine.