Lok Sabha elections 2019: Only 2 independents in Haryana have won LS polls since 1967
Amit Nehra, a political expert, says the reason for the low success rate of independents is that it is very difficult for them to cover nine assembly segments in one go.
With just two independents from Haryana making it to the lower house since 1967, Lok Sabha elections seem to be a tough nut to crack for candidates without a party backing.
In the past 52 years, only A Gani from Gurgaon and Arvind Sharma from Sonepat have been able to win as independents even as 1,430 candidates tried their luck as independents.
This time, as many as 85 independents are in the fray for 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Amit Nehra, a political expert, says the reason for the low success rate of independents is that it is very difficult for them to cover nine assembly segments in one go.
“The Lok Sabha elections are always fought on national issues so voters also elect their representatives a national point of view and this is where independents lose out. They are also not strong in terms of money and cadre support,” said Nehra, adding, “Most independents just fight the election to participate and not to win.”
They don’t even make much of an impact in the vote share as many end up losing even their security deposits.
Since 1996, only Arvind Sharma has been able to save his deposit.
He had defeated Social Action Party’s Rijaq Ram by 49, 540 votes.
