Ahmedabad: Nearly 76 percent candidates have lost their security deposits in the just concluded Gujarat Assembly Election, officials said. Most of them are from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while the Congress nominees also suffered huge reverses. The BJP won a landslide victory by bagging 156 of the 182 seats with Congress ending up a distant 2nd with 17 seats and AAP winning 5 seats in on debut in Gujarat.
As per officials, a total of 75.94 percent of the registered candidates have forfeited their deposits in the election including 128 of the AAP and 41 Congress candidates. A candidate loses the security deposit if he/she ends up failing to secure one-sixth of the votes (over 16 percent) in the election. In Ahmedabad district, the deposits of 84.74 percent candidates have been forfeited.
Also read: Gujarat poll: BJP breaks records in high victory margins; CM wins by 1.92 lakh
While 22.91 percent of Congress candidates have forfeited their deposits, the percentage of AAP candidates is 69.21 percent. The deposits of 98.23 percent candidates registered as independent candidates have been forfeited in Ahmedabad. Significantly, more than 80 percent of the candidates who lost the deposits hail from four districts.
Of the 249 candidates who contested for 21 assembly seats in Ahmedabad district, the deposits of 211 candidates were forfeited. The BJP won 19 out of 21 seats in the district. The Chief Minister of the state has won from the Ghatlodia assembly seat with the biggest margin. In Surat district, 82.14 percent candidates lost deposits including 11 Congress candidates, 5 AAP candidates and 136 independents.
In Patan district having 4 assembly seats, the BJP and Congress won two seats each. However, of the 43 candidates, the deposits of 35 candidates were forfeited. Likewise, 83.33% candidates forfeited their deposits in Porbandar.
