In its worst-ever performance, BRS forfeits deposit in eight constituencies

Hyderabad, June 6 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which drew a blank in Lok Sabha elections, forfeited deposits in eight out of 17 constituencies in Telangana while its vote share came down drastically since Assembly elections were held six months ago. 

The BRS, which suffered its worst-ever defeat since its inception in 2001, failed to retain a single out of nine Lok Sabha seats it won in 2019.

The party, which lost power to Congress recently, also faced the ignominy of its candidates losing deposits in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Zaheerabad, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, and Mahbubnagar.

Three of these seats (Zaheerabad, Chevella and Mahabubnagar) were won by the BRS in the previous elections.

The BJP also forfeited deposits in two constituencies while the Congress candidate in one place.

Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, only candidates securing at least one-sixth of the total polled votes cast are entitled to a deposit refund.

The security deposit was Rs 25,000 for general candidates and Rs 12,500 for Scheduled Caste nominees.

BRS candidates finished a distant third in 14 constituencies and second in two constituencies (Mahbubabad and Khammam). In Hyderabad, the BRS candidate finished a poor fourth.

The BJP candidates finished third and forfeited deposits in Mahabubabad and Khammam constituencies.

Putting up its best-ever performance, the saffron party doubled its 2019 tally, to win eight seats. It finished runner-up in seven constituencies.

The Congress party, which also improved its tally to eight from three in the previous election, lost its deposit in Hyderabad despite finishing third.

The ruling party candidates finished second in eight constituencies.

Both the Congress and BJP have reaped huge gains from BRS' loss. The BJP improved its vote share to 35.08 per cent, a big jump from 19.5 per cent in 2019.

The saffron party had polled 13.90 per cent votes in November 2023 Assembly elections to win eight seats in 119-member Assembly.

The Congress too improved its vote share to 40.10 per cent from 30.2 per cent in 2019.

In Assembly elections held in November 2023, the Congress had won 64 seats with a 39.40 per cent vote share.

The BRS, which had won 39 Assembly seats with 37.35 per cent vote share, suffered losses across the state. Its vote share plummeted to 16.68 per cent.

KCR-led party could secure a majority only in three out of its 39 Assembly segments. Even in these three segments, its votes dropped drastically compared to the margin achieved in the recent Assembly polls.

The BJP was the biggest beneficiary from BRS' loss as it scored a majority in 24 of the segments held by BRS. The saffron party also secured a majority in 15 of the 64 segments won by Congress in recent elections. In all, it secured a majority in 46 segments.

The Congress got majority votes in 12 Assembly segments of BRS. It also gained a majority in a segment held by BJP. The ruling party also got a majority in the Kothagudem Assembly constituency, won by its ally CPI. Thus, the Congress' tally of Assembly segments with a majority remained unchanged at 64.

Though Congress wrested the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat from BRS in the by-election, the BJP polled the maximum votes in the Lok Sabha polls in this segment, a part of the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency.

All India-Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) secured a majority in six out of seven Assembly segments it won recently.

Compared to the 2023 Assembly polls, the BJP increased its votes in all the segments, barring three. The number of votes of the Congress party in as many as 76 segments has dropped. The votes of BRS also came down in 117 segments.

Though Congress had bagged majority Assembly seats under the Karimnagar and Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha constituencies, the BJP got a majority in most of these segments and won both seats.