Describe the procedure for nomination of candidates for elections in India.

The main features of the procedure for nomination of candidates for elections in India are as given below:
(i) In India anyone who is a voter can contest election provided he has attained the age of 25 years. Criminals and persons with unsound mind can, however, be debarred from contesting elections.
(ii) Political parties nominate their candidates who get the party symbol and support.
(iii) Candidates who are contesting elections, have to fill a ‘nomination form’ and give some money as ‘security deposit’.
(iv) Now, as per direction of the Supreme Court, every candidate has to make a legal declaration giving following information which should be made public:
(a) Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate.
(b) Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family.
(c) Educational qualifications of the candidate.
This information is made public so that the voters may make their decision on the basis of the information provided by the candidates. It may also be mentioned that there is no educational qualification for candidates seeking election because that would go against the spirit of democracy as it would deprive majority of the country’s citizens the right to contest election due to illiteracy in the country. For example if a graduate degree was compulsory for candidates, more than 90 per cent of citizens wilt become ineligible to contest elections.