1,416 CANDIDATES PASS NOMINATION SCRUTINY, 45% REJECTED BY SEC

NEW DELHI: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday released the final list of 1,416 candidates in the fray for election to the Capital’s 250 municipal wards. Sixty-eight returning officers scrutinised 2,585 nominations from Tuesday to Thursday, rejecting 1,169 of them.

The final number is almost half the number of the accepted nominations in the 2017 municipal elections when there were 2,809 candidates in the fray for 272 wards. The number of civic wards in the national capital was reduced to 250 in October following the delimitation process and reunification of the three municipal bodies.

According to SEC, the most common reasons for rejection of a nominated candidate were incomplete details, missing affidavits and supporting paperwork and non-submission of valid caste certificates. “In many cases, the documentation of the proposers was not sufficient. Candidates from recognised national or Delhi state parties submit nomination papers proposed by one elector from the ward they are contesting from other candidates need 10 proposers,” a commission official said.

A large number of the rejected nominations was also due to multiple nominations being filed by candidates fielded by political parties to counter the possibility of nominations being rejected on technical grounds. They were rejected anyway.

Meawhile, the party-wise distribution of candidates shows that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will field 250 candidates each; and the Congress will field 247 candidates. These elections will also see 439 independent candidates and 138 Bahujan Samaj Party candidates. Eleven other political parties, such as All India Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United) and Nationalist Congress Party will contest on less than 30 wards.

The candidates will be able to withdraw their nominations till Saturday, an SEC official said.