UP Polls: Record deposits of Congress, BSP candidates forfeited

BJP retained power in Uttar Pradesh and broke the 37-year-old record by securing 255 out of 403 constituencies. Congress secured only two seats and record deposits of candidates have been forfeited which no party would like to repeat.

Lucknow: The thumping majority received by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2022 marginalized the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) along with the Congress. The record deposits of Congress and BSP candidates have been forfeited which no party would like to repeat.

Congress had fielded candidates in 399 seats of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly among which 387 candidates (97%) have lost their deposits. Meanwhile, in two seats, Congress has got only 2.4% of the total votes whereas, in order to save the deposit in any seat, a candidate needs to get 16.66% of the total votes. The deposits of Congress candidates on such a large scale have never been confiscated in the state before as the performance of the Congress was reduced to just two seats.

While BSP achieved success in only one seat and performed disappointingly as 72% of the BSP candidates lost their deposits. The party had fielded candidates on all 403 seats and the deposits of BSP candidates were forfeited on 290 seats.

The deposits of the lowest number of BJP candidates were forfeited. The party fielded candidates on 376 seats, out of which only three candidates forfeited their deposits while none of the candidates of BJP's ally Apna Dal (S) and Nishad Party forfeited their deposits.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party had fielded 347 candidates in the election out of which six candidates lost their deposits. SP's ally Suhaldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SubhSP) and Apna Dal (Kameravadi) fielded a total of 25 candidates among which 8 lost their deposits.