SRINAGAR: Nearly 90 percent of the candidates vying for the five Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir lost their security deposits, unable to garner one-sixth of the votes polled in their respective constituencies.
The voters gave a decisive mandate to the eventual winners on all but one Lok Sabha constituency in the union territory, the Election Commission data revealed.
Out of 100 candidates in the fray, 89 lost their security deposits, the data showed.
Sheikh Abdul Rashid, an Independent contender who defeated political heavyweights — former chief minister Omar Abdullah and People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone — in Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, was the sole winning candidate who secured less than 50 per cent of the total votes polled, with a vote share of 45.70 per cent.
Baramulla is the only constituency in Jammu and Kashmir where the third placed candidate — Sajad Gani Lone – was able to save his security deposit.
Lone had polled 16.76 percent votes against the requirement of 16.34 percent for saving the security deposit.
While National Conference leader Aga Roohullah Mehdi got the highest percentage of votes at 52.85, BJP’s Jugal Kishore who made a hat-trick win from Jammu Lok sabha seat, garnered 52.80 per cent of the votes.
In Udhampur, BJP leader and Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who also won for the third time in a row, got 51.28 per cent votes while NC’s Mian Altaf Ahmad, who defeated former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti from Anantnag-Rajouri seat, secured 50.85 percent votes.
Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) was routed at the hustings as all three of its candidates lost their security deposit. In fact, none of his party candidates managed to secure even four per cent of the votes.
Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, who contested from Udhampur Lok Sabha seat, received 3.56 per cent of the votes, while Mohammad Saleem Parray got 2.49 per cent votes in Anantnag-Rajouri and Aamir Bhat 2.24 per cent votes in Srinagar.
There were seven women in the fray in these five constituencies and only PDP president Mehbooba Mufti managed to save her security deposit.
