Nomination process for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab begins today

The nomination process for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab going to polls in the seventh and final phase on May 19 commences Monday, an official said on Sunday.

The state's Chief Electoral Officer, S Karuna Raju, said that as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the filing of nomination papers would start with issuance of notification on April 22 and would continue till April 29. The scrutiny of the nominations would be done on April 30 and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is May 2, he said.

The nominations for the upcoming elections would be filed in the office of respective returning officers situated in District Administrative Complex from 11 am to 3 pm from April 22-29, excluding April 27 (Saturday) and April 28 (Sunday), he added.

Raju said that April 27, being the 4th Saturday of the month, is a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881; therefore, nomination papers cannot be presented to the Returning Officer on that day.?Polling would be held for all the 13 seats on May 19.

While the ruling Congress in Punjab and main Opposition AAP have announced their candidates, other opposition party Shiromani Akali Dal is yet to announce its nominee for Bathinda and Ferozepur seats.

The BJP, an ally of the SAD, which will be contesting on three seats, has also not announced its candidates yet. AAP's breakaway group, lad by Punjabi Ekta Party chief Sukhpal Singh Khaira, which has formed an umbrella group of various political factions under the Punjab Democratic Alliance, has announced its candidates for 13 seats.

SAD (Taksali), a breakaway faction of the SAD, is also testing political waters and has fielded its candidates on some seats.