'No Demand' certificate a must for nomination

Candidates seeking to contest the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa will have to submit an additional affidavit along with a ‘No Demand’ certificate.

Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi on Wednesday said that the candidates seeking to contest the Assembly elections would have to file an additional affidavit and a No Demand certificate along with his or her nomination papers.

He or she would have to obtain the No Demand certificate from the agencies providing electricity, water and telephone.

 If the candidate had been in occupation of any government accommodation during the last 10 years, he or she would have file a document certifying that he or she owed no dues as rent, the election commissioner said.

The Election Commission  introduced the requirement to file an additional affidavit and a No Demand certificate by candidates in accordance with an order of the Delhi High Court.

Zaidi said that the failure to file the affidavit along with the No Demand certificate would be treated as a defect of substantial nature “for the purposes of Section 36 of the Representation of People Act, 1951” and might lead to rejection of the nomination of the candidates.