(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) SRINAGAR — A total of 63 candidates including former BJP minister Chaudhary Lal Singh, PDP's face from Baramulla Abdul Qayoom Wani and Peoples Conference candidate from Srinagar Irfan Raza Ansari, had their deposits forfeited in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
A candidate loses his or her security deposits if he or she gets less than one sixth of all valid votes.
As per the data available with the EC, 63 out of the total 79 candidates who fought Lok Sabha elections on six seats in the state have failed to save their security deposits. Interestingly, all the four candidates who fought from Ladakh managed to save the deposits. Elsewhere, the percentage of such candidates who lost their deposits is 80% since they were unable to get more than 16.66% of the total votes polled. "In the Lok Sabha elections, if a candidate is unable to get more than 16.66% votes his security deposit is forfeited," an officer with the state election department said.
In Jammu, the highest number of 22 candidates got their security deposit forfeited as they were unable to get even 1% of votes. Prominent among those include Lal Singh, the former minister and two time parliamentarian who led rallies in support of culprits in gruesome rape and murder of a girl in Kathua last year.
Singh, who floated his own party-- Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party—managed only 6849 votes, 0.47% of the total 1455290 votes polled. Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party chief Prof Bhim Singh got 3705 votes at the percentage of 0.25%. BJP's Jugal Kishore polled 772190 votes to defeat his nearest rival Raman Bhalla of Congress (514274) by 261983 votes from Jammu seat.
In Anantnag, fifteen out of eighteen candidates lost their security deposit and prominent among those include BJP leader Sofi Yousuf, a former member of the state legislative council, who polled 10225 votes (8.19%). Shams Khwaja, a lawyer from UP, who become the first non-state subject to contest any election from Jammu and Kashmir, got 760 votes (0.61%) to forfeit the deposits.
Justice Hasnain Masoodi, a former judge of the high court, defeated Mehbooba by 9656 votes and his nearest rival G A Mir, State Congress chief, by 6676 votes from the constituency where elections were held in record three-phases.
The NC candidate polled 40180 votes in comparison to 33504 votes secured by the Congress chief and 30524 votes by Mehbooba Mufti.
This is the first-ever loss suffered by Mehbooba Mufti from the south Kashmir parliamentary constituency which comprises of 16 assembly segments spread over three districts of Anantnag (6), Kulgam (4), Pulwama (4) and Shopian (2).
Abdul Qayoom Wani of PDP was among six out of nine candidates from Baramulla who also forfeited their deposits. Even as Wani polled 53523 votes, his percentage remained less than 16% of the total 453018 votes polled.
Dr Jitendra Singh who polled 706529 votes defeated Congress's Vikramaditya Singh (362413) by a whopping margin of 344116 votes from Udhampur constituency. All other ten candidates in fray including Harsh Dev Singh of JKNPP lost security deposits.
From Srinagar, BJP's Sheikh Khalid Jehangir with 4631 votes and Peoples Conference's Irfan Raza Ansari with 28773 (15.4%) were among ten out of twelve candidates who forfeited the deposits.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah who polled 106577 votes defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Aga Syed Mohsin (36,625 votes) , by a margin of nearly 70000 votes.
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