Record number of independents in MP polls

Bhopal, Nov 23 (UNI) As many as 1369 independent candidates including 68 women are in the fray for November 27 Vidhan Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh.

Election Office sources here said the number of independent candidates is one and a half percent more than 879 candidates who contested elections than 2003 assembly election.

Despite their large number in 2003, only two independent candidates were elected from Mehgaon and Khachrod constituencies while four independent candidates from Jaura, Bhander, Jatara and Pandhurna emerged as the nearest contestants of the winning candidates.

The lowest number of 106 votes were secured by the independent candidate who contested from Lashkar Assembly constituency. However, this number was more than 83 votes garnered by Republican Party of India(A) candidate from Bhopal North. This was the lowest number of votes secured by any candidate in 2003 elections.

As many as 869 independent candidates forfeited their security deposits as they failed to garner even 16.66 percent votes in their respective constituencies.

This time, 1369 independent candidates including 1301 men and 68 women are in the election fray. Maximum 26 independent candidates are contesting from Pichhore Vidhan Sabha seat in Shivpuri district.

There are six Assembly constituency where no independent candidate has filed his nomination papers. These include Bina in Sagar district, Gunnaur in Panna district, Susner in Shajapur district, Nepanagar in Burhanpur district, Badnawar in Dhar district and Manasa in Mandsaur district.

As many as 822 male and 39 female independent candidates belong to general category. In all,123 males and 39 female independent candidates belonging to scheduled castes are contesting election from general seats while the number of scheduled tribe independent candidates in such seats is 57 males and three females.

Besides, 158 male and 11 female independent candidates belonging to scheduled castes and 141 males and 12 female candidates belonging to schedule tribes are in the poll fray in the constituencies reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes respectively.

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