The Need for a Political Eligibility Test for Elected Representatives in the Indian Political Framework

In a democratic government, the elected representatives of the government represent the people's will and have a crucial role to play. In India, the elected representatives of Parliament represent the sovereign and have responsibilities such as passing legislation, administering laws, etc. With such responsibilities for government representatives kept in mind, the forefathers envisioned eligibility criteria that had to be met by those candidates intending to run for political office. When compared to other developed countries, however, India lags in several areas concerning political eligibility. Such areas include a lack of educational qualifications and corruption, preventing the Indian political system from working efficiently. This is in contrast to developed democracies which can maintain a strict eligibility standard for those wishing to contest for office. This paper will expand upon the need for a political eligibility test for elected representatives in the Indian political framework. It will focus on understanding the current political eligibility standards present in the country and its shortcomings. The paper will compare the political eligibility standards of the Commonwealth of Australia with that of India to see where India stands and where it might improve. Following this, the paper's authors seek to provide a viable and efficient political eligibility test that may be adopted to address the current problems faced.