68% Candidates Polled Fewer Than NOTA In J&K, 89% Lost Deposits: Data

The recent Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir brought some striking numbers. A whopping 89% of the candidates forfeited their security deposits. This includes all three candidates from Ghulam Nabi Azad's Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), two candidates from the BJP-backed Apni Party, and the PDP candidate from the Baramulla seat.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 100 candidates contested across five Lok Sabha seats in J&K: Udhampur, Jammu, Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar, and Baramulla.

Out of the 100 candidates, only BJP's two winners, NC's two winners, Independent candidate Er Rashid, former CM Omar Abdullah (who lost to Er Rashid), former CM and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti (who lost to NC's Mian Altaf), PDP leader Waheed Para (who lost to NC's Aga Ruhullah in Srinagar), Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference, and two losing Congress candidates from the Jammu region managed to save their security deposits. The rest forfeited theirs, reported The New Indian Express.

A total of 89 candidates failed to secure the required 16.67% of the votes in their constituencies to save their security deposits. Among them, three were from DPAP: Ghulam Nabi Saroori, who secured only 3.56% of votes in Udhampur; Mohammad Saleem Parray, who secured 2.47% of votes in Anantnag-Rajouri; and Amir Ahmad Bhatt, who garnered only 2.24% of votes in Srinagar.

Candidates from the BJP-backed Apni Party also lost their security deposits in both the Anantnag and Srinagar seats. Of the 100 candidates, 89 did not reach the 16.67% vote threshold necessary to retain their deposits, including all the candidates from the J&K Apni Party led by Syed Altaf Bukhari, the DPAP and the PDP candidate from Baramulla, Mir Mohammad Fayaz. Additionally, 68 out of the 100 candidates received fewer votes than the NOTA option in their respective constituencies.