58 candidates forfeit security deposits, State earns Rs 2.90 lakh

GANGTOK, 17 May: The State exchequer is now richer by almost Rs.3 lakh which has accrued to it by way of candidates forfeiting their security deposits. A total of 58 candidates who contested the recently concluded Sikkim Assembly and Parliamentary elections have forfeited their security deposits. This was because, as per rules, they could not poll the minimum required votes for a successful return of their deposits.

As per rules, a candidate has to receive at least one-sixth of the total votes cast in his contesting constituency. It was a bizarre outcome with votes polled by NOTA (None of the Above) came in third place after the Sikkim Democratic Front and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha in the Assembly elections.

This was the first time in the history of elections in India and Sikkim that the NOTA option was offered to the electorate, and, for Sikkim at least, it turned out to be a warped kind of success with many opting for it.

A spectacular 4,459 voters took the NOTA option throughout Sikkim in the Assembly elections. This is nearly 1.5% of the total votes polled and is a shade higher than the 4,390 votes polled by the Congress Assembly election candidates.

Meanwhile, as a result of 58 candidates forfeiting their security deposits of Rs. 5000 each, the total amount accruing to the administration comes to Rs. 2.90 lakh. This figure could be a shade lower since ST and SC candidates need to pay up only half the prescribe amount to be able to contest.

It is something to contemplate for political parties that a small state like Sikkim could have so many people who are not satisfied with the candidates who have been propped up by the political parties. For North district, NOTA was pressed 318 times; in East district NOTA received 1,547 votes; in South NOTA came up with 1,245 and in West district NOTA bagged 1,326 votes. Interestingly, in Kabi Lungchuk, even the winning margin was lower than the NOTA votes,

Of those who forfeited their deposits, 4 contested the parliamentary elections; from the State Congress all its 33 candidates forfeited their deposits; ditto for BJP which had 14 candidates and for the Trinamool Congress 6 candidates. On the other hand there were Independents too who lost their deposits numbering 5.