Of these 215 candidates who lost their deposits, 118 are independents, as per data (Representational)
Out of 265 candidates who contested Lok Sabha elections across 25 constituencies in Gujarat, a staggering 215, including all contestants from the BSP, failed to meet the required vote threshold and consequently lost their security deposits.
At 118, most of these candidates were Independents, besides all 24 nominees fielded by Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party, as per data.
As per Election Commission rules, candidates must secure at least one-sixth of the total votes polled in a constituency to retrieve their security deposit, which amounts to Rs 25,000 for general candidates and Rs 12,500 for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe nominees, said Joint Chief Electoral Officer for Gujarat, Ashok Patel.
"The security deposit amount, submitted to the EC at the time of filing of nominations, is forfeited if a candidate fails to secure one-sixth or 16.67 per cent of total valid votes polled in that constituency," he said.
With the BJP securing the Surat seat uncontested, the electoral battleground saw 265 candidates vying for 25 out of the total 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. Notably, voting was conducted on May 7, with results declared on June 4.
Statistics shared by the EC show an average of 9 to 13 lakh votes cast in each of the 25 constituencies, indicating candidates would lose their security deposit if failing to secure at least 1.5 lakh votes (one-sixth of the total votes).
Data highlights that except for 50 candidates - comprising the winner and their closest contender on 25 seats - the remaining 215 candidates saw their deposits forfeited as their vote tally fell below 20,000 in all constituencies.
Of these 215 candidates who lost their deposits, 118 are independents, as per the data.
Bahujan Samaj Party, contesting 24 seats except the Panchmahal, witnessed all their candidates losing their deposits. Despite securing the third position on several seats, none of BSP's candidates surpassed the 20,000-vote mark.
Other candidates losing their deposits hailed from lesser-known or obscure parties, including Insaniyat Party, Garib Kalyan Party, New India United Party, Malwa Congress, and Rashtra Nirman Party.
In the election results announced, BJP emerged victorious on 24 seats, with Congress making a notable comeback by clinching the Banaskantha seat in north Gujarat.
Noteworthy is the case of BSP's Rekhaben Chaudhari, the lone candidate losing the deposit on Bardoli Lok Sabha seat where the contest involved only three candidates.
Meanwhile, 16 candidates, including 8 independents, lost their deposits on Ahmedabad-East seat, while 13 candidates, including seven independents, faced the same fate on Sabarkantha seat.
The trend continued across several constituencies, with notable numbers of candidates losing their deposits on seats like Vadodara, Navsari, Gandhinagar, Surendranagar, and Jamnagar- 12 each, Bharuch and Bhavnagar, 11 each, and Banskantha, Porbandar, and Kheda- 10 each.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)