The highs and lows of this year’s general elections
Lucknow,June 11(HS)One Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh out of the total eighty which went to polls recently will remain etched in memory for a long time not for one reason that has grabbed the headlines but some more.
The one much highlighted reason was the victory in this constituency.It was achieved by the lowest margin of 181 votes.But it is not the only reason it should be remembered for.There are a few others which mark it out.
The BJP had played a big gamble in this constituency.Ram Charitra Nishad had won this seat for the party in 2014.But instead of him it opted for a rebel.The gamble paid.
For some reason the party was not happy with Nishad and wanted a change.It waited for long.Finally,less than 20 days before the first phase of polling and 12 days after joining, the BJP declared him its candidate for Machhlisahr. The former BSP man defeated the new BSP candidate Tribhuvan Ram by the lowest margin.
Saroj was with the BSP and had fought the previous poll on BSP ticket.He had lost to the BJP’s Ram Charitra Nishad.Annoyed with the party Nishad had left and joined the SP.He was given ticket by the party for Mirzapur seat which he lost.So,in one case the rebellion has paid and, in another, it did not.
It should be a lesson to those who want to oblige defectors.Their selection pays but not always. Nishad had won this seat for the BJP in 2014 by a big margin of 1.72 lakh votes.In recent elections,the seat was first bagged by the BSP in 2004.He could not hold it in next election and left it for the SP.In the last two general elections,however, the BJP has been victorious.
Four other candidates in the country have won by small margins out of which the one who came second after UP was from Lakshadweep. His victory margin was much bigger than that of Saroj.It was 823.
For those who are interested in some other stats,the winner with the highest margin in 2019 belonged to Gujarat.C R Patil has defeated his nearest rival by about 6.89 lakh votes.He could not,however, exceed the victory margin of Pritam Munda achieved in 2014.It totalled 6.96 lakh votes.The winner belonged to Jharkhand.
The UP man will at least hold the record for next five years.Records are often broken but If it is not in 2024 he will be remembered till at least 2029.
