Presidential poll 2022: Scrutiny of nomination papers on, final candidates in the fray to be announced today

As many as 115 nominations have been filed for the July 18 presidential election, including that of NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu and the combined opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Besides Murmu and Sinha, a host of commoners have also filed their papers for the top constitutional post in the country.

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New Delhi: A nomination for the presidential poll will be rejected if it is not backed by 50 proposers and 50 seconders from the electoral college made up of members of Parliament and legislative assemblies. The nomination will also be rejected if an aspirant does not pay Rs 15,000 in cash or present a receipt showing such an amount deposited in the Reserve Bank of India or a government treasury. Cheques and demand drafts are not acceptable means of paying the security deposit.

As many as 115 nominations have been filed for the July 18 presidential election, including that of NDA nominee Draupadi Murmu and the combined opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Besides Murmu and Sinha, a host of commoners have also filed their papers for the top constitutional post in the country, which includes a slum dweller from Mumbai, a namesake of RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav, a social activist from Tamil Nadu and a professor from Delhi. 

The scrutiny of nomination papers is being done on Thursday and the final candidates in the fray will be announced by the evening. According to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, any Indian citizen having completed 35 years and eligible to be a member of the Lok Sabha is qualified to become a candidate to contest the election to the office of the President of India.

The aspiring candidate should not be holding any office of profit under the central or state government or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the governments.

The incumbent president, vice-president, governor of any state or ministers of the Centre or any state shall be eligible to contest the election. The rules state that a nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and at least 50 electors as seconders and presented to the returning officer appointed by the Election Commission.

The nomination papers can be submitted either by the candidate or by any of his proposers or seconders. The candidate is also required to furnish a certified copy of the entry showing his name in the current electoral roll for the parliamentary constituency in which he is registered as an elector.