Ten, including Ranjit Deshmukh, lose deposit in Ramtek

Nagpur, Apr 13 (UNI) Congress rebel Ranjit Deshmukh, who contested as an independent, and nine other candidates in fray in the byelection to Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra have lost their deposits as they could not garner the required quota of votes.

A candidate has to poll one-sixth of the number of valid votes to save his deposit. The number of valid votes cast in Ramtek was 550,283, and, therefore, the quota for saving the deposit was 91,714, according to official sources.

As many as ten of the twelve candidates in fray in Ramtek could not reach the minimum figure required. These included Ranjit Deshmukh, who got 79,638 votes, Siddiqui Jamal Anwar Siddiqui Anwar of the Samajwadi Party who got 5,236 votes, and eight other independents.

The deposit for a Lok Sabha election is Rs 10,000 for general candidates and Rs 5,000 for those from the backward classes.

The byelection in Ramtek was necessitated after Mr Subodh Mohite, who was elected from there in 2004 on a Shiv Sena ticket, resigned from the party and the House to join the Congress.

UNI