Mohali, June 2 -- At least 82 of the 227 candidates, who contested across the Mohali's 50 wards in municipal corporation elections, are set to forfeit their security deposits after failing to secure the minimum number of votes required under election rules.

An analysis of ward-wise results showed that contestants polled fewer votes than the prescribed threshold, indicating a highly polarised contest dominated by major parties and a handful of strong independents.

Independents accounted for largest number of forfeitures, followed by candidates of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Among the candidates identified from the ward-wise data, at least 31 Independents, 24 SAD candidates, 20 BJP candidates, six C...