Qualifications required to be a Member of Parliament

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The Constitution lays down the following qualifications for a person to be chosen a member of the Parliament:

1.       He must be a citizen of India.

2.       He must make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation before the person authorised by the election commission for this purpose. In his oath or affirmation, he swears

a.       To bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India

b.       To uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India

3.       He must be not less than 30 years of age in the case of the Rajya Sabha and not less than 25 years of age in the case of the Lok Sabha.

4.       He must posses other qualifications prescribed by Parliament.

The Parliament has laid down the following additional qualifications in the Representation of People Act (1951).

1. He must be registered as an elector for a parliamentary constituency. This is same in the case of both, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The requirement that a candidate contesting an election to the Rajya Sabha from a particular state should be an elector in that particular state was dispensed with in 2003. In 2006, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of this change.
2. He must be a member of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe in any state or union territory, if he wants to contest a seat reserved for them. However, a member of scheduled castes or scheduled tribes can also contest a seat not reserved for them.