Independents have never had it so bad. According to data with the Election Commission of India, while they contested in 98.78 per cent of the seats in the recent Lok Sabha polls --  some 2384 Independents were in the fray -- they only won in 0.17 per cent of the seats. That translates into four out of the 543 seats.

The picture gets worse when you consider that of those who lost, 82 per cent lost their deposits.

In the 1999 and 1998 general elections, Independents had won six seats.

But they are not alone in the misery; registered unrecognized parties also suffered a similar fate. According to EC data, while they fielded contestants from 888 constituencies they could only win in 15 -- down from the 49 they had won in 1998. In 1999 candidates from registered unrecognized political parties had won 10 seats.

"Most of the time Independents are fielded by major political parties to cut into the vote-bank of their opponents.
However, in a few cases they could also be highly motivated intellectuals with no party backup or even a high decibel
campaign, which becomes the prime reason for their defeat," says V V Sunder, a psephologist with the Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi.

"Sans money and power, there is no way such motivated individuals can make a change," says Sunder. "But this time the picture was anyway complex and a lot of other factors contributed to such low numbers for the Independents."

Agrees Shiv Khera, management guru and author of You Can Win, who contested unsuccessfully as an Independent from South Delhi in the recent polls. "These elections were very complex. None of the political parties even expected such results. The exit polls too were proved wrong," he said, referring to the National Democratic Alliance being voted out of office and a Congress-led coalition coming to power.

"People wanted a change," Khera added. "But then they were primarily looking at the two main parties [Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party]. As far as Independents go, people thought 'what difference can one person make, anyway he is not likely to win. So why should I waste my vote on him'."

"The people's indifferent attitude towards Independents at most places made the situation worse for them this time," points out Khera, noting that however, in places where the Independents stood for a cause they were able to make a dent.

Citing his own case, he says, "Out of 18 contestants [in South Delhi], I was third. This showed there were others
who stood by you and your ideas."

He says in the case of Independents, by and large, lack of a big advertising budget and political support go against them. Moreover, he points out, there are restrictions imposed by the EC as to what and how much an Independent can do or spend.

Khera says there is a need to create awareness about the cause Independents stand for and the reasons one should vote for them. He also cautions that their credentials need to be checked, to ensure they have not been planted by political parties to cut down their opponents.