Figures show that Independents are not great poll performers

Going by official statistics, Independents seem to be fast losing the confidence of public with the number of those winning from this category declining over the years.

Are independent candidates “spoilers” as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh thinks?

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Going by official statistics, Independents seem to be fast losing the confidence of public with the number of those winning from this category declining over the years.

Over 37,000 Independent candidates have participated in the past 14 general elections held in the country since Independence. However only 214 of them, less than one per cent, could make it to Parliament while 34,640 have lost their deposits.

In every general elections, Independent candidates constitute about 50 per cent of the total contestants, the Election Commission said. While a total of 66,524 candidates participated in all the 14 general elections, the number of independent candidates in these polls was 37,440.

While the winning trend of Independent candidates is on the decline, their participation in the elections has been witnessing an increasing trend.

Despite this trend, many stalwarts are contesting this year’s election as Independent candidates. Such prominent independent candidates include George Fernades, Arjun Singh’s daughter Veena Singh, ABN Amro India head Meera Sanial and danseuse Mallika Sarabhai.

The Prime Minister on Monday said in Mumbai that the (Independents) are “spoilers”.