None Of The Above (NOTA) outperforms nine contestants in Lakhimpur HPC

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: In the recently concluded 17th parliamentary poll, the number of votes recorded in the EVMs through ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) button outperformed nine contestants in Lakhimpur’s House of People’s Constituency (HPC).

A total of 15,220 electors out of 17,08,013, exercised their franchise by pressing the NOTA key of the EVMs in the election of the HPC. These electors did not support any one of the eleven candidates who were in fray in the HPC.

As per the result, winner of the HPC, Pradan Baruah of BJP secured 7,76,406 while his nearest contestant, Congress candidate Anil Borgohain bagged 4,25,855 votes. The number of NOTA votes was 15,220.

On the other hand, the performance of the remaining nine candidates in the HPC, out of the 12,68,369 valid votes polled, are as follows: Anup Pratim Barbaruah of Nationalist Congress Party-4,527 votes, Amiya Kumar Hundique of Communist Party of India(Marxist)-12,809, Arup Kalita of Communist Party of India-13,378, Ubaidur Rahman of Asom Jana Marcha-8,738, Dilip Moran of Assam Dristi Party-8,285, Bhupen Narah of Voter’s Party International-5,581, Hem Kanta Miri of Socialist Unity Center of India(Communist)-4,034, independent candidates Ambaz Uddin-3,890 and Prabhu Lal Vaisnava-4,866.

Further, these nine candidates of the HPC lost their requisite deposit too with these performances. As per the criteria of the Election Commission of India, the deposit made by a contesting candidate in the election will be returned if he gets more than one-sixth of the total number of valid votes polled in the election in his constituency. As per this criteria, these candidates had to secure more than 2,11,394 votes in the election.

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