LS polls 2019: EC not to bar BJP candidate Sadhvi Pragya from contesting elections, say sources

Lok Sabha polls 2019: According to the law, any citizen above 25 years of age is eligible to contest polls unless convicted for any crime, which involves punishment for two years or more.

Lok Sabha polls 2019: A day after political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla moved the Election Commission to debar Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from contesting elections, sources said EC would not stop the BJP's candidate from Bhopal from fighting the general elections. (PTI)

Lok Sabha polls 2019: A day after political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla moved the Election Commission to debar Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from contesting elections, sources said EC would not stop the BJP's candidate from Bhopal from fighting the general elections. Pragya is facing terrorism charges, however, as per the law, she still can contest the polls as she is not yet proven guilty in the case. Sources said there is a provision for barring a candidate from contesting the election if he/she is proven guilty of the charges, but nothing of this sort is applicable on the accused. According to the law, any citizen above 25 years of age is eligible to contest polls unless convicted for any crime, which involves punishment for two years or more. In a letter to the Commission, Poonawalla had said that the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra found that Thakur was the "main conspirator" in the 2008 Malegaon blast. Six people were killed in this incident. He said that his name appeared in Ajmer Dargah bomb blast. He wrote in this letter, "I would humbly request the Election Commission of India to take further necessary steps to uphold the Model Code of Conduct 2019 and take appropriate action against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and debar her from contesting elections." The BJP, meanwhile, said it will contest the polls in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh as a fight against the alleged "conspiracy" by the Congress to defame Hindu religion by linking it to terrorism.