What’s in the news?

• Election results for West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry assemblies were declared recently. Many of the candidates contested lost their security deposits.

What is losing deposit in elections?

• According to the Representation of People Act, 1951, it is mandatory for every candidate contesting a Parliamentary or Assembly election to deposit a certain security amount. 
• To contest a Parliamentary election, the amount is Rs 25,000 and in case of an Assembly election, it is Rs 10,000. 
• This amount is deposited with the Election Commission and is called a security deposit in the election. The deposit amount is mandated to ensure only serious candidates file nomination to contest elections. 
• The Election Commission of India takes many steps to conduct free and fair parliamentary and assembly elections in the country. So the deposit of a security amount is one of them.
• Now, if the candidate gets fewer than one-sixth of the total number of valid votes cast in the constituency, his security deposit will be lost. This means that the candidate who had deposited Rs 25,000 or Rs 10,000 or any other amount would not be refunded by the Election Commission of India.
• In the first Lok Sabha elections in 1951-52, almost 40 per cent of the total candidates lost their deposits. Nearly 86 per cent of the candidates contesting Lok Sabha elections in 2019 lost deposits, according to a report released by the Election Commission of India.

Reference:

1. https://www.business-standard.com/about/what-is-losing-deposit-in-election#collapse