General Elections 2014: Lowest ever Number of Independent Candidates Elected

General Elections 2014 has seen the lowest ever number of Independent candidates getting elected. Out of a total of 8251 contestants, 3234 were Independent candidates; out of this, 3 candidates have been elected. In the previous General Elections held in 2009, the total number of Independent candidates was 3831 out of which 9 were elected. The highest ever number of Independents elected is 42 (Second General Elections, 1957); the number of Independent candidates contested was highest at 10635 in 11^th General Elections, held in 1996.

Table 1:  Performance of Independent Candidates in General Elections 1951-52   ̶  2014

General Elections	Year	Total No. of Contestants	Total No. of Independent Candidates	No. of Independent Candidates Elected
First	1951 - '52	1874	533	37
Second	1957	1519	481	42
Third	1962	1985	479	20
Fourth	1967	2369	866	35
Fifth	1971	2784	1134	14
Sixth	1977	2439	1224	9
Seventh	1980	4629	2826	9
Eighth	1984 -'85	5492	3797	5
Ninth	1989	6160	3712	12
Tenth	1991 -'92	8749	5546	5
Eleventh	1996	13952	10635	9
Twelfth	1998	4750	1915	6
Thirteenth	1999	4648	1945	6
Fourteenth	2004	5435	2385	5
Fifteenth	2009	8070	3831	9
Sixteenth	2014	8251	3234	3
Source: Election Commission of India