Explained: What are ‘A, B’ forms & why they are crucial

News:Candidates aspiring to contest upcoming assembly elections on the ticket of a political party are required to submit various documents and forms.The most important documents are Form A and Form B.

Facts:

About Forms:

• Form A and Form B denotes that a certain candidate has been approved by a political party and should be allotted the election symbol of that party.
• These two forms referred collectively as ‘AB Form’ prove that a political party has appointed a person in charge of distributing tickets and the candidate has obtained a ticket for a certain constituency from that person.

About Form A:

• This is a communication from a ‘recognised national or state political party’ or a ‘registered but unrecognised political party’ to the returning officer of the constituency or the chief election officer of the state.
• It conveys names of office-bearers of the party, who have been authorised to intimate names of the candidates chosen by the party to contest the polls.

About Form B:

• This is a communication from the authorised office-bearer of a political party (whose name is mentioned in Form A issued by the president or secretary of the party) to the returning officer of the constituency.
• This letter informs the returning officer about the name of the authorised candidate for the party who should be allotted the party symbol.
• The letter also contains a substitute name for allotment of the symbol and candidature.