 "Lok Sabha elections 2024: 8,360 candidates in fray, highest since 1996")
A total of 8,337 candidates are contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the highest since 1996 when 13,952 were in the fray. During the 2019 and 2014 elections, 8,054 and 8251 candidates, respectively, had contested the 543 seats, according to the Election Commission’s 2019 ‘Atlas’.
The number of candidates in 1951-52 was 1,874 (for 489 seats). The average number of candidates per constituency increased from 3.83 in 1951-52 to 15.35 in 2024. The number was the highest in 1996 when on an average 25.69 candidates had contested per seat.
Ahead of the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, the EC increased the security deposit from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000, which led to a drop in the number of contestants to 4,750 in the election year. The average number of candidates per seat also declined to 8.74 that year.
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According to an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), of the 8,337 candidates in the 2024 elections, 797 (or 9.5 per cent) are women. Parliament passed the women's reservation Bill in September last year, which will be implemented after the delimitation.