Election Results 2019: Nearly Two-Third Candidates Won With Over Half Of Vote Share, Says ADR

Nearly two-thirds of the winners in this year's Lok Sabha election received at least half of the total votes polled in their respective constituencies, according to Association for Democratic Reforms.

That, according to the non-governmental organisation, could indicate greater certainty among the electorate over their preferred candidate compared with the previous two election seasons.

Winners in the 2019 general election secured, on average, 52.7 percent of the total votes—over five percentage points higher than the mean of votes polled by winners in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

Only 26 percent of the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidates won by securing less than half of the total votes cast in their constituencies. On the other hand, about 65 percent of the 52 winning legislators in the Indian National Congress bagged less than 50 percent of the total votes.

Criminal records didn't deter candidates from defeating those with no declared criminal cases as 132 (57 percent) of the total 233 winners with criminal records won with a vote share of at least 50 percent.

Super-rich candidates won over half the total votes polled, with about 66 percent of the ‘crorepati' contestants dominating in their respective constituencies.

The number of women elected to the 17th Lok Sabha, at 78, was higher compared with 62 in the 16th Lok Sabha.