Furnishing of income tax returns has been made mandatory for all candidates entering the poll fray under a new nomination affidavit brought out by the Election Commission. Candidates will now have to fill a six-page affidavit including details of inherited property along with his or her nomination papers before the returning officer. The I-T returns and details of properties of the spouse and all the dependents of the candidates will also have to be furnished in the new affidavit. The new measures, according to sources, have been taken by the EC in consultation with the Central Board of Direct Taxes in order to curb the use of blackmoney and illegal wealth in the electoral process. The other features, in the new affidavit, in relation to criminal background, assets, liabilities and educational qualifications of the candidates, are more or less same as earlier. Chief Election Commissioner Dr S.Y. Quraishi had recently made a strong pitch for providing tax benefits on donations only to those political parties, which prove their strength at the hustings, on the ground that exemptions on such funds have led to the mushrooming of several new parties. Observing that almost 75 to 80 per cent of registered political parties have not participated in any elections for the last several years, the CEC said that although the Commission has power to register political parties, it does not have the power to de-register them.