Closest Margin Lok Sabha Constituencies

1996 Lok Sabha (Parliament) Election · Top 25 constituencies by margin (votes)

In the 1996 Lok Sabha election, the closest result was in Vadodara (Gujarat), where Gaekwad Satyajitsinh Dilipsinh (Indian National Congress) won by just 17 votes (0.00% margin). The full ranked list of the top 25 constituencies is below — click any constituency to see its complete candidate-wise result.

Difference in votes between the winner and the runner-up. Smaller = closer race.

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Rank Constituency State Winner Party Margin (votes)
1 Vadodara Gujarat Gaekwad Satyajitsinh Dilipsinh Indian National Congress 17 (0.00%)
2 Puducherry Pondicherry M.O.H. Farook Indian National Congress 284 (0.10%)
3 Valsad ST Gujarat Manibhai Ramjibhai Chaudhari Bharatiya Janata Party 368 (0.10%)
4 Kota Rajasthan Dau Dayal Joshi Bharatiya Janata Party 685 (0.10%)
5 Lakshadweep ST P.M. Sayeed Indian National Congress 1,034 (3.40%)
6 Balaghat Madhya Pradesh Vishveshwar Bhagat Indian National Congress 1,257 (0.20%)
7 Thrissur Kerala V.V.Raghavan Communist Party Of India 1,480 (0.20%)
8 Srinagar Ghulam Mohammad Mir Indian National Congress 1,599 (0.50%)
9 Delhi Sadar Delhi Vijay Kumar Goel Bharatiya Janata Party 1,603 (0.50%)
10 Kaliabor Assam Keshab Mahanta Asom Gana Parisad 1,616 (0.20%)
11 Eluru Andhra Pradesh Bolla Buli Ramaiah Telugu Desam Party 1,635 (0.20%)
12 Moradabad Uttar Pradesh Shafiqur Rahman Warq Samajwadi Party 1,885 (0.30%)
13 Bikramganj Bihar Kanti Singh Janata Dal 2,423 (0.40%)
14 Alwar Rajasthan Nawal Kishore Indian National Congress 2,433 (0.60%)
15 Udupi Karnataka Oscar Fernandes Indian National Congress 2,454 (0.40%)
16 Saharanpur Uttar Pradesh Nakli Singh Bharatiya Janata Party 2,499 (0.30%)
17 Rohtak Haryana Bhupender Indian National Congress 2,664 (0.40%)
18 Tonk SC Rajasthan Shyam Lal Banshiwal Bharatiya Janata Party 2,726 (0.60%)
19 Godhra Gujarat Patel Shantilal Parsotamdas Indian National Congress 3,228 (1.00%)
20 Lakhimpur Assam Arun Kr. Sarma Asom Gana Parisad 3,440 (0.50%)
21 Jajpur SC Odisha Anchal Das Janata Dal 3,873 (0.60%)
22 Kolaba Maharashtra Antulay Abdul Rahiman A. Gafoor Indian National Congress 4,007 (0.60%)
23 Chikmagalur Karnataka B L Shankar Janata Dal 4,059 (0.60%)
24 Bellary Karnataka K C Kondaiah Indian National Congress 4,519 (0.70%)
25 Sambhal Uttar Pradesh Dharmpal Yadav Alias D.P.Yadav Bahujan Samaj Party 4,894 (0.90%)

Why this list matters

Constituencies with the closest margins are the bellwethers of Indian electoral politics. A seat won by a few hundred or even a few thousand votes is one where a small shift in turnout, alliance arithmetic, or local sentiment can flip the result entirely. These "marginal seats" are where parties concentrate campaign resources, where star candidates are sometimes parachuted in, and where post-result petitions and recounts happen most often.

Click any constituency above to see the full candidate list, vote shares, and historical context.

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