In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJP made record of clean sweep in Madhya Pradesh by winning all the 29 seats and snatching the only Congress seat of Chhindwara in 2019 general elections. Additionally, the BJP dominated the state as much as nearly 85 per cent of the total candidate lost their security deposits in the elections.
In the central Indian state, a total of 369 candidates contested the Lok Sabha elections out of which 311 failed to get sufficient votes to save their security deposits which ranged fro Rs 12,500 to Rs 25,000, an official said.
Only 58 out of 369 saved their deposits
Only 58 candidates, 29 newly elected MPs of the BJP, all 27 Congress candidates and two of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) saved their deposit, Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan said. According to another EC official, a candidate has to secure one-sixth of the total valid votes cast in the constituency. The Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class candidates have to keep Rs 12,500 as security deposit, while those belonging to the general category have to pay Rs 25,000, the EC official said.
Clean sweep after 40 years in MP
Notably, it is after 40 years that any party has won all the seats in the state. Earlier in 1984 general elections, the Congress party under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi clinched all 40 seats of the undivided Madhya Pradesh. Out of 29 seats, BJP candidates’ winning margin in 26 seats ranged between 1 lakh and 5 lakh votes. Only in Bhind, Gwalior and Morena, the victory margin was less than 1 lakh. Moreover, the saffron party got 1.3 per cent more votes in these elections as compared to 2019 general elections, rising to 59.3 per cent, while the Congress party’s vote share nosedived by 2.1 per cent from 34.5 per cent in 2019 elections to 32.4 per cent.
(With PTI Inputs)
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