Gujarat elections 2017: Still under 25, but age is no bar for these two candidates

Hardik Patel's political plunge may have been stymied for now because of his age. But the age bar was not a stumbling block for the political ambitions of Mahesh Patani and Shailesh Patel. Despite being underage, their nomination was accepted as an independent.

It should be noted that anyone under the age of 25 years of age cannot contest the assembly elections.

The Association for Democratic Reforms and the Gujarat Election Watch, which pointed out the anomaly during analysis of affidavits of candidates, said it is a pointer to how well the forms are scrutinised.

Patani is just 21-year-old, yet his candidature was accepted for the Palanpur seat. When contacted, Patani said he is a citizen of a democracy and has right to contest the elections. "What do you care if I am 21 or 41? If the returning officer has no problem why are you asking me about my age? I am a free citizen of the country and can contest the elections," Patani told DNA.

The returning officer of Palanpur, from where Patani filed his nomination, AD Joshi when contacted said they had noted the anomaly in his age and had asked him to rectify it at the time of filing his nomination. "He is 25 years of age.He had even given us proof of his age and had filed a second affidavit in place of the earlier one. Perhaps that one was not uploaded and hence the confusion was created. We know Patani is over 25 years of age," said Joshi. As for Shailesh Patel, whose affidavit states that he is 18, is contesting from Ghatlodia. Sudhir Patel, the returning officer for Ghatlodia constituency however clarified that the error was in the affidavit and not in the nomination form.