Through thick and thin margins

Ramakrishna, a former Congress MP, won from Anakappalli in Andhra Pradesh in 1989 election while Som Marandi (BJP) won from Rajmahal constituency in undivided Bihar in 1998 polls. Ramakrishna later joined the YSR Congress and this time, he is yet to decide on whether to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In 1989, Ramakrishna broke the 18-year-old record of M S Sivasamy, who won from Tiruchendur in Tamil Nadu in 1971 with a margin of 26 votes. Marandi became a joint holder of the record with Ramakrishna nine years later. Interestingly, in both constituencies, more than five lakh votes were polled.

In the 2009 election, Congress minister Namo Narain Meena had the lowest margin of 317 from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur. This time, too, Meena is contesting on a Congress ticket and is pitted against his own brother Harish Chandra Meena, a former DGP of Rajasthan police. Both were in the Indian Police Service.

P Pookunhikoya of JD(S) holds the record for 2004 elections. He defeated Congress veteran P M Sayeed by a margin of 71 votes. Pookunhikoya disrupted the free run of Sayeed from Lakshadweep seat since 1967.

CPM’s Anil Basu holds the record for the highest victory margin of 5,92,502 in 2004 elections. He bettered LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan’s record margin of 5,04,448 in Bihar’s Hajipur during the 1989 elections.

Paswan also holds the record for scoring two victories with a margin of over four lakh votes. In the 1977 polls, his margin was 4,24,545.

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s victory margin of 3,14,878 in 1984 was the highest in that election. He and his party was riding a sympathy wave following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

In the 2009 polls, C M Chang of Nagaland People’s Front had the highest margin of 4,83,021. Another leader who had a similar margin was Santosh Mohan Deo (Tripura West) in 1991 polls, when he won with a margin of 4,28,984 votes.