The recent conduct of the proposer who signed on Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s nomination for Barhait Assembly constituency has caused a stir in the state, just weeks before polling on November 13 and November 20.

The police detained Soren’s proposer, Mandal Murmu, on October 27 while on his way to meet BJP leaders. While he claimed he met BJP MP Nishikant Dubey to apprise him of various issues, including the alleged “infiltration” by Bangladeshis, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya alleged that Murmu was being taken by “unknown persons somewhere”.  JMM sources said there was apprehension that Murmu might switch over to the BJP, putting Soren’s nomination in doubt.

On Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar pulled up the Jharkhand Chief Secretary and DGP over the incident, questioning them how the police detained Murmu and the others. According to a source, the CEC also pointed out that when the police stopped the vehicle, it did not observe the Model Code of Conduct as it did not video record the episode or follow other procedures.

What is the role of the proposer? 

Proposers, who are electors registered in a particular Lok Sabha or Assembly constituency, are required to sign the nomination papers of candidates. Candidates put up by recognised national or state parties need one proposer, while Independent candidates or those of unrecognised parties need 10 proposers, as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The proposer need not be a member of the party. When the nomination papers are presented to the Returning Officer (RO), the candidate or the proposer has to be present. The RO has to make sure that the name and electoral roll number of both the candidate and the proposer are correct. A candidate can file up to four nomination papers for the same constituency; only one can be accepted. The same proposer can sign more than one nomination paper of the candidate.

Candidates usually select prominent electors from their constituency to act as their proposers. In the case of Soren, Murmu is a descendant of the leaders of the 1855 Santhal rebellion Sidho Murmu and Kanhu Murmu. For his nomination from Varanasi for the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose members from the Brahmin, OBC, and Dalit communities. One of them was the Vedic scholar Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, who was responsible for deciding the auspicious time for consecrating the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January.

Can a nomination be rejected on account of the proposer? 

While scrutinising the nomination papers, the RO can reject the nomination if it is not delivered within the deadline or if it is delivered by anyone other than the candidate or the proposer. The nomination can also be rejected if the signature of the candidate or proposer is found to be fake.  A proposer meeting with rival parties or even joining another party will not have any impact.

In the case of Soren, Wednesday was the date of scrutiny of nominations and his nomination has been accepted.

Is there any precedent?

In the Lok Sabha elections, the important role of the proposers came into the limelight when three proposers of Congress’s Surat candidate Nilesh Kumbhani said they had not signed the papers when the RO asked them. Kumbhani’s nomination was rejected and the BJP candidate, Mukesh Dalal, went on to be elected unopposed. The incident led the Congress to allege that the BJP had pressured the proposers to withdraw their support.