LS Polls Witnesses Rising Trend of Candidates With Each Polls

BANGALORE: In India, with each successive Lok Sabha polls, there has seen a rise in the number of candidates contesting the election. Despite the fact that the Election Commission of India increasing security deposit from 500 per affidavit to 25, 000, more candidates come up to be a part of the polls battle. This has not stopped people from throwing their hat in the electoral ring. Election Commission rules say that if a candidate fails to get a minimum of one-sixth of the total valid votes polled, the deposit goes to the treasury.

Over the last polls in 2009, a total of more than 8000 candidates contested the 543 Lok Sabha seats, averaging 14.86 per seat which is over 40 percent more as compared to the earlier polls. EC data shows that the peak came in the 11th general elections which saw highest number of candidates contesting the polls. Among the Indian states, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are the states that produce the most number of candidates.

With the new birth of political party like AAP, the counts of candidates are more likely to increase all the more in the upcoming LS polls. In a way, more candidates lead to more confusion among the electorates in choosing their right leaders.

Professor Trilochan Sastry, founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms, said, "Politics is a lucrative business, and if one manages to win or get a considerable number of votes, it may propel him to get a party ticket in future," reports B Sivakumar of TNN.

"The number of contestants cannot be reduced just by raising the security deposit. In many states, parties are involved in increasing contestants in each constituency. Many parties and contestants are misusing the law," former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami added.

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