Conducting elections is an expensive affair. However, there is also a source of revenue in the process — the state Election Commission records reveal that 362 candidates from Karnataka lost their deposits in the recently-concluded general elections. This has left the state EC richer by Rs32,90,000.
There were 427 candidates in the fray for 28 seats in the state. Only candidates who have polled one-sixth of the votes polled are allowed a refund of their deposit. Candidates contesting from a general constituency are required to make a deposit of Rs10,000 each; for a reserved constituency, the deposit amount is Rs5,000.
In case the candidate polls a sixth of the total votes, the deposit amount is returned within a month of the declaration of election results. Only 65 candidates in the state have succeeded in retaining their deposit.
In the seven reserved constituencies, 66 candidates have lost their deposit.
“Apart from the 28 candidates who won, another 37 polled at least a sixth of the total votes, thus managing to retain their deposit amount. Those candidates who have not taken one sixth of total polled votes are going to lose their deposit,” says a senior Election Commission official.
Bangalore Central tops the list of deposit losers: 34 of the 37 candidates here have lost their deposit. Only the winning candidate in this constituency, BJP’s PC Mohan, Congress candidate HT Sangliana and JD(S) candidate Zameer Ahmad Khan succeeded in retaining their deposits here.
In Bangalore North, 26 candidates lost their deposit amount. BJP candidate DB Chandre Gowda, the winner, and Congress candidate CK Jaffer Sharief were the only ones to retain their deposit. JD(S) candidate R Surendra Babu, arguably the state’s richest man, also lost his deposit.In Bangalore South, 18 candidates including Prof KE Radhakrishna of the JDS and independent candidate Capt GR Gopinath.
Election expenses doubled
As compared to the last Lok Sabha elections in 2004, the expenses the Election Commission incurred this year have nearly doubled.
Official figures reveal that the EC spent Rs 85crore in conducting polls for the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state; in May 2004, the EC expended Rs45 crore. A senior official said that the additional expenses were on account of enhanced remuneration to those supervising the polls.
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