198 of 220 Lok Sabha candidates in Chhattisgarh lose security deposits

Raipur, Jun 5 (PTI) As many as 198 out of 220 candidates who were in the fray in the 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in Chhattisgarh have lost their security deposits, as per an analysis of results, showing they were overwhelmingly rejected by the voters in the state.
The state, which came into existence in November 2000, has largely seen a bipolar battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in general elections and voters have mostly rejected other entrants.
In the recently concluded polls, whose results were announced on June 4, the BJP won 10 of the 11 seats in the state, while the Congress bagged one.
As many as 220 candidates were in the fray in the 11 seats where voting was held in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7. The state had recorded 72.8 per cent voter turnout.
According to Election Commission (EC) rules, a candidate has to get at least one-sixth of the total votes polled in a constituency to get back their security deposits, which is Rs 25,000 for general (including OBC) category and Rs 12,500 for Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste nominees.
The security deposit amount, paid at the time of filing nominations, is forfeited if a candidate fails to garner the required minimum percentage of valid votes.
Of the total 220 candidates in the state, 11 each of the BJP and the Congress got enough votes to save their deposits, but the remaining 198 contestants failed to do so.
Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) candidates Shyam Singh Markam (Korba) and LS Uday Singh (Surguja) secured third position in their respective constituency, but failed to save their security deposits. The GGP had managed to win one seat, Pali Tanakhar, in the last year's assembly elections in Chhattisgarh.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidates Innocent Kujur (Raigarh), Ashwini Rajak (Bilaspur), Dilip Ramteke (Durg), Mamta Rani Sahu (Raipur), Dr Rohit Dahariya (Janjgir-Champa) and Tilakram Markam (Kanker) bagged third spot in their respective seat, but lost their deposits.
Similarly, Phulsingh Kachlam of the Communist Party of India (CPI) stood at fourth position in Bastar, but lost his deposit.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)