On December 8, counting for Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat state assembly elections took place. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contested in both states and announced that it would form governments. However, the results are going completely against the party’s hopes. In Himachal, the party contested 67 seats and is currently on track to lose the deposit on almost all of them. A candidate must secure at least one-sixth or 16.7 per cent of the total valid votes cast in a constituency to save the deposit.
AAP candidates are losing to NOTA at 24 seats. The party managed to secure above 1,000 votes at only 14 seats. On 52 seats, AAP could not secure even one per cent vote share, which speaks volumes about the party’s position in the state. So far, AAP has performed worst in Garget and Barsar, where it managed to get only 139 and 148 votes. As per ECI website, AAP has managed to secure only 1.1 per cent of votes in the state.
What does it mean by ‘losing deposit’?
As per the Representation of People Act, 1951, it is mandatory for every candidate contesting in an Assembly of Parliamentary election to deposit a certain amount as a security deposit with the Election Commission. In the case of Parliamentary elections (Lok Sabha Elections), the amount is Rs 25,000. In the Assembly election (Vidhan Sabha Elections), the amount is Rs 10,000.
The security deposit is made with the Election Commission and ensures only serious candidates file the nomination to contest the elections. As per the regulations, there are several steps the Election Commission takes to ensure free and fair elections at every stage in the country. The security deposit is one such step.
To ‘save deposit’, a candidate must get more than one-sixth of the total number of valid votes cast in the constituency. If he or she fails to do so, the candidate will lose the deposit, and the Election Commission will not return the amount. For example, if there are 1,00,000 valid votes cast in a constituency, a candidate must secure 16,666 votes to save his or her deposit.
