Lucknow, May 24 (PTI) A total of 1,368 candidates, including star contenders, who contested the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh lost their security deposits with Congress nominees topping the list.
The state witnessed a four-cornered contest in the general elections with Congress, BSP, BJP and SP contesting the polls on their own.
Out of the total 1,368 candidates who were in fray in 80 constituencies in the state, as many as 1,155 lost their security deposits.
Of these 35 candidates were from Congress, 25 from BJP, SP 13 and BSP four, according to the election department.
Among the star contenders who lost security deposits were BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, former union minister Mahaveer Prasad, former Vidhan Sabha speaker Mata Prasad Pandey and actress Nafisa Ali.
Naqvi, who won the Rampur seat in 1998, not only lost his security deposit from the same constituency this time, but was placed fourth after getting 61,503 votes.
In Pilibhit, except BJP leader Varun Gandhi, who won by a record margin of over 3.81 lakh votes, security deposits of all other 15 candidates, including his uncle V M Singh of Congress, and BSP nominee Ganga Charan Rajput was forfeited.
Similarly, in Saharanpur BJP’s Jaswant Singh and Gaje Singh of Congress lost their security deposits. PTI
