Latur District Elections: 94 Candidates Fail to Secure Votes and Lose Deposits

In the recent elections in Maharashtra's Latur district, 94 out of 106 candidates lost their security deposits. This indicates they received less than one-sixth of the total valid votes. Some candidates even failed to secure 100 votes. The six constituencies involved were Latur City, Latur Rural, Ausa, Nilanga, Udgir, and Ahmedpur-Chakur.

According to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, candidates from the general category must deposit Rs 10,000 with the Election Commission as a security deposit. For Scheduled Castes and Tribes candidates, this amount is Rs 5,000. If a candidate fails to secure one-sixth of the total valid votes, their deposit is forfeited.

Security Deposits Forfeited

In Ahmedpur, 13 candidates participated in the elections. Only three candidates retained their security deposits by securing enough votes: Babasaheb Mohanrao Patil (NCP), Vinaykrao Patil (NCP-SP), and Ganesh Hake (Jansuraj Shakti). The remaining candidates lost their deposits.

Latur City saw 24 candidates vying for a seat. Congress's Amit Deshmukh won, while Dr Archana Patil Chakurkar from BJP came second. However, 22 other candidates, including Vinod Khatke from Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, forfeited their deposits.

Major Alliances and Independent Candidates

The elections featured candidates from major alliances like Mahayuti (BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP) and Maha Vikas Aghadi (Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT, NCP-SP). Additionally, many independents and smaller parties such as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi also contested.

In Latur Rural, 16 candidates contested the elections. BJP's Ramesh Karad emerged victorious with Congress's Dhiraj Deshmukh in second place. The remaining 14 candidates lost their security deposits due to insufficient votes.

Udgir Constituency Results

The Udgir constituency had 18 candidates competing for votes. Sanjay Bansode from NCP won the seat. Most other candidates in this Scheduled Castes segment forfeited their deposits due to inadequate vote counts.

The election results highlight the challenges faced by independent and smaller party candidates in securing enough votes to retain their deposits. Despite a large number of contestants, only a few managed to meet the required vote threshold.