A stunning 97% of Congress candidates in UP lost their deposit

A new post-election analysis has shed further light on the extent of the Congress’s loss in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election.

Congress candidates in 387 seats lost their security deposits, according to the report. Since the party contested 399 seats, that translates into 97 per cent of candidates forfeiting their deposit.

The Grand Old Party won just 2.4 per cent of the total votes, having contested nearly all seats, a share lower than the Rashtriya Lok Dal’s 2.9 per cent from just 33 seats, the Times of India said. With wins in Rampur Khas and Pharenda, the party’s tally is now down to just two, its lowest ever in the state, which it once lorded over.

Even in Amethi and Rae Bareli, strongholds of the Nehru-Gandhi family not long ago, the Congress failed to get a single seat, its candidates finishing a disappointing third or fourth.

Former chief minister Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party was the other big loser. It lost the deposit in 290 seats, having contested all 403 assembly constituencies.

The BJP, which again secured a majority in the state, lost the deposit in three of the 376 seats it contested. Six of Samajwadi Party’s 347 candidates failed to recover their deposit.

The BJP’s minor partners, Apna Dal (Soneylal) and Nishad, did not lose their deposits in even one of the 27 seats they contested between themselves. In contrast, the SP’s junior partners, the SBSP and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), saw eight of their combined 25 candidates lose the deposit.