The number of candidates in the Lok Sabha elections increased four times as compared to 1952, read how many candidates contested the first general election.

In comparison to the first general election held in 1952, the number of candidates has increased four times. In 1952, 1,874 had contested the elections, while in the 2019 elections, this figure was 8,039. Till 1977, there used to be an average of three to five candidates per seat, but in 2019 this figure was 14.8.

Highest representation from southern states

The five constituencies that had the highest representation of candidates in the 2019 elections were from the southern states of Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. On average, Telangana had the highest number of candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections. A maximum of 185 candidates were from Nizamabad. The average number of candidates in Telangana, except Nizamabad, was 16.

Significant increase in the total number of candidates

There were 1,874 candidates for 489 seats in 1952.

This number increased to 2,784 in 1971.

The number of candidates in the 1980 elections saw an increase of 4,629.

There were 5,492 candidates in the eighth general election of 1984–85.

8,668 contested for 543 seats in 1991

8,070 contested the 2009 general elections

8,251 candidates were in the fray in the 2014 elections.

8,039 candidates contested the 2019 general elections from 542 parliamentary constituencies.

If the security deposit increased then candidates decreased

Due to the Election Commission of India increasing the security deposit for candidates from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000, the average number of candidates per seat came down to 8.75 candidates in the 1998 elections. After a long gap, the number of candidates was seen less than five thousand. In the 1999 general elections, the number of candidates increased marginally to 4,648, an average of 8.56 candidates per seat. In 2004, the total number of candidates again crossed 5,000. There were 5,435 contestants in the fray for 543 Lok Sabha seats in this election.

Belgaum was next after Nizamabad

Belgaum in Karnataka saw the second-highest representation of candidates after Nizamabad. An average of two-thirds of the candidates in each constituency in Tamil Nadu contested the elections as independent candidates.

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