Question

If in an election to a State legislative assembly, the candidate who is declared elected loses his deposit, it means that

(a) the polling was very poor

(b) the election was for a multi-member constituency

(c) the elected candidate's victory over his nearest rival was very marginal

(d) a very large number of candidates contested the election

Answer 1

(d) a very large number of candidates contested the election

A defeated candidate who fails to secure more than one sixth of the valid votes polled in the constituency will lose his security deposit. When a very large number of candidates contest the election, due to distribution of votes, the winning candidate may get less than 1/6 th of valid voters.