Nearly 7,200 candidates lost deposits amounting to Rs 16.4 crore in Lok Sabha polls

Of the 8,360 candidates in fray from 543 seats for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, 7,194, or 86.1% of all candidates, lost their security deposits worth Rs 16.36 crore in total, data from the Election Commission (EC) showed. These candidates failed to secure one-sixth of the total valid votes cast in their respective constituencies.

Those contesting the general elections in India are required to deposit a security of Rs 25,000 with the poll body, according to the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The EC mandates that a security amount be deposited to ensure only serious candidates file nominations to contest elections.

In 2009, the amount for the security deposit was raised to Rs 25,000 for candidates in unreserved seats and Rs 12,500 for candidates in reserved Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) seats, of which there are 84 and 47 respectively. In Assembly polls though, the deposit is Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 for SC and ST seats.

The amount forfeited by candidates who fail to win at least one-sixth of the vote is deposited in the Reserve Bank of India or in a government treasury, as per the EC.

The absolute number of forfeitures has risen this year from 2019, when 6,923 or 86% of the total 8,054 candidates lost their deposits, amounting to a total Rs 15.87 crore.

Among the parties, the highest number of the candidates who forfeited their deposits contested from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) at 476, or 97.5% of all its candidates, mirroring the Mayawati-led party’s performance in this election – it failed to secure even a single seat. In total, these BSP candidates lost Rs 1.04 crore in deposits. The BSP had fielded a total of 488 candidates across 26 states and Union Territories (UTs).

None of the