ECI chief Sunil Arora on Friday announced the election dates for four states and a union territory - Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry. While Tamil Nadu, Kerala. and Puducherry will vote on April 6, Assam will vote between March 27 and April 6, and West Bengal will vote between March 27 and April 29.
For those that don't want to just vote, but also contest the elections, here's an explainer on how to file a nomination.
Eligibility
To contest in any election in India, one would have to be a citizen of India. For State Assembly elections, one would have to be aged 30 or above. One would also have to be enlisted in the electoral roll of a parliamentary, state assembly, or a ward-level constituency.
Paperwork
Filing an election nomination involves a lot of paperwork. The ECI has mandated that a candidate submit a handful of documents/forms having details of the individual's background, assets, and many more details as part of their nomination paperwork.
For a State Assembly election, an aspiring candidate will have to fill in the respective forms: Form 2B, an electoral roll certified extract, caste certificate, Form A and B (if they are being fielded by a political party), and most notably, Form 26. Form 26 is an affidavit that contains information about the candidate's background - education, caste, and the like, and their assets and liabilities.
Is that all?
Not quite.
A candidate will also need to submit a security deposit of Rs 10,000 as part of the nomination procedure. If they are from a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe (SC/ST) background, the security deposit is Rs 5,000.
After submitting the nomination papers, the individual must also take an oath — whose format is prescribed in the 3rd schedule of the Indian Constitution — before a Returning Officer (RO) or an Assistant Returning Officer (ARO).