In June 1992 a by-election was held for the New Delhi seat in the Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament of India).[1] The by-election was called after the resignation of the incumbent Member of Parliament L.K. Advani.[2]
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Background
editBharatiya Janata Party leader Advani had won the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat in the 1989 and 1991 general elections.[3] However, Advani had also won the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat in 1991, and thus opted to resign from the New Delhi seat.[4]
The by-election was originally scheduled for November 1991, but was countermanded after the death of candidate Mukesh Kumar Garg of Kanpur.[4][5]
Candidates
editA whopping 125 candidates contested the by-election.[2] The two main candidates were Bollywood star actors.[6] The Indian National Congress fielded film star Rajesh Khanna as their candidate in the by-election.[3] Khanna had contested against Advani in the 1991 election in New Delhi, and lost by a mere 1,589 votes.[1] In the 1992 by-election his main opponent was another actor, Shatrughan Sinha of the BJP.[1][7] Sinha, nicknamed 'Shotgun', had campaigned for the non-Congress opposition in the 1989, but without affiliating with any party at the time.[8][9][10] In his 1992 campaign Sinha adopted a tough stance against Khanna and Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, challenging the Congress government on election promises made in the 1991 campaign.[8] India Today compared his election rhetoric to his performance as the rogue Chhannoo in the 1971 hit Mere Apne.[8] BJP leaders campaigning on behalf of Sinha included Uma Bharti, Madan Lal Khurana, and Vijay Kumar Malhotra.[8] Advani was notably absent from the campaign.[9]
Khanna's campaigners included H.K.L. Bhagat, R.K. Dhawan, and Vidya Charan Shukla.[8] It was reported that H.K.L. Bhagat had also sought the Congress nomination for the by-election.[8]
The wives of the two contending film stars, Dimple Kapadia and Poonam Sinha, played a prominent role in mobilizing crowds for their husband's campaign rallies.[8]
Jai Bhagwan Jatav stood as the Janata Dal candidate in the by-election.[8] Jatav was expected to do well amongst Muslim voters.[8] In the buildup to the demolition of the Babri Masjid later in 1992, Muslims tended to perceive P.V. Narasimha Rao's Congress as taking a soft stance on the advance of the Hindutva movement.[11]
Independent candidate Phoolan Devi, known internationally as the 'Bandit Queen', was in jail at the time of the by-election.[2][12][13] Devi had been imprisoned without trial since 1983 on around 50 charges, including murder.[12]
Result
edit| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rajesh Khanna | Indian National Congress | 101,625 | 52.51 |
| Shatrughan Sinha | Bharatiya Janata Party | 73,369 | 37.91 |
| J.B. Jatav | Janata Dal | 10,638 | 5.50 |
| S. Kumar | Independent | 1,135 | 0.59 |
| Phoolan Devi | Independent | 753 | 0.39 |
| Y. Qureshi | Independent | 518 | 0.27 |
| G. Singh | Independent | 450 | 0.23 |
| H. Raj | Independent | 282 | 0.15 |
| N. Singh | Independent | 208 | 0.11 |
| H.S. Gill | RJMP | 186 | 0.10 |
| M.C. Malhotra | Independent | 178 | 0.09 |
| N.K. Verma | CP | 174 | 0.09 |
| R. Kumar | Independent | 169 | 0.09 |
| A.S. Chaprana | Independent | 144 | 0.07 |
| R.C. Jain | HNP | 132 | 0.07 |
| J. Bhagwan | Independent | 115 | 0.06 |
| S. Chand | Independent | 114 | 0.06 |
| V. Davind | Independent | 107 | 0.06 |
| Allauddin | Independent | 103 | 0.05 |
| V.N. Tripathi | Independent | 103 | 0.05 |
| S.P.S. Ahluwalia | Independent | 99 | 0.05 |
| R. Kumar | Independent | 98 | 0.05 |
| Gulshan | Independent | 97 | 0.05 |
| I.P. Singh | SP | 92 | 0.05 |
| S.C. Saxena | Independent | 91 | 0.05 |
| S. Singh | Independent | 86 | 0.04 |
| R. K. Shukla | Independent | 80 | 0.04 |
| S. Kumar | Independent | 72 | 0.04 |
| M. Gupta | Independent | 71 | 0.04 |
| H. C. Rana | Independent | 65 | 0.03 |
| S. Lal | Independent | 61 | 0.03 |
| M. Gupta | Independent | 60 | 0.03 |
| V.S. Tripathi | Socialist Party (Ramakant Pandey) | 52 | 0.03 |
| K. Lal | Independent | 50 | 0.03 |
| Bhagirath | Independent | 50 | 0.03 |
| Mohammed Bilal | Independent | 50 | 0.03 |
| N. Kumar | Independent | 49 | 0.03 |
| R. Prakash | Independent | 48 | 0.02 |
| S. Pal | ABDND | 48 | 0.02 |
| A. Pathak | LD | 46 | 0.02 |
| S. S. Rathi | PRP | 46 | 0.02 |
| A. Thakur | Independent | 44 | 0.02 |
| R. N. Shastri | ABBDP | 44 | 0.02 |
| M. Mo. A. Hussain | Independent | 42 | 0.02 |
| S. Vayas | Independent | 41 | 0.02 |
| A. Kumar | Independent | 39 | 0.02 |
| N. Kishore | Independent | 38 | 0.02 |
| K. K. Babbar | Independent | 37 | 0.02 |
| S. Sachdevga | Independent | 35 | 0.02 |
| A. Nath | Independent | 33 | 0.02 |
| G. Krishna | Independent | 33 | 0.02 |
| Arun | Independent | 32 | 0.02 |
| P.C. Jain | Akhand Bharat Mahasang Sarvahara Krantikari Party | 32 | 0.02 |
| V. Kumar | Independent | 32 | 0.02 |
| N. S. M. Nayyar | Independent | 31 | 0.02 |
| G. Singh | Independent | 28 | 0.01 |
| R. K. Mittal | Independent | 28 | 0.01 |
| S. Parkash | Independent | 28 | 0.01 |
| R. S. Bedi | Independent | 26 | 0.01 |
| B. D. Bhart | Independent | 26 | 0.01 |
| S. Lal | Independent | 26 | 0.01 |
| M. Lal | Independent | 25 | 0.01 |
| Dr. A.Q. Burni | Independent | 24 | 0.01 |
| P. P. Verma | Independent | 24 | 0.01 |
| Mohammed Adil | Independent | 24 | 0.01 |
| K. D. Mishra | Independent | 23 | 0.01 |
| C. L. Balmiki | Independent | 23 | 0.01 |
| B. Mukand | Independent | 23 | 0.01 |
| S. Ram | Independent | 23 | 0.01 |
| O. alias Charrawala | Independent | 22 | 0.01 |
| R. R. Dubey alias R. Gandhi | Independent | 22 | 0.01 |
| K. K. Virmani | Independent | 21 | 0.01 |
| Sanjay | Independent | 21 | 0.01 |
| D. D. Suri | Independent | 20 | 0.01 |
| G. Bhai | Independent | 19 | 0.01 |
| K. K. Dogra | Independent | 19 | 0.01 |
| B. Pal | Independent | 19 | 0.01 |
| Mahabir | Independent | 19 | 0.01 |
| R. K. Bajaj | Independent | 19 | 0.01 |
| V. Gupta | Independent | 19 | 0.01 |
| C. Prakash | Independent | 18 | 0.01 |
| KM. J. Carunia | Independent | 18 | 0.01 |
| Mohammed. H. Sagar | Independent | 18 | 0.01 |
| Dr. S.P. Gupta | Independent | 17 | 0.01 |
| J. Saxena | Independent | 17 | 0.01 |
| D. Sharma | Independent | 17 | 0.01 |
| N. Singh | Independent | 17 | 0.01 |
| S. I. Prakash | Independent | 17 | 0.01 |
| E. Imamy | Independent | 16 | 0.01 |
| C. Bhan | Independent | 16 | 0.01 |
| D. Gupta | Independent | 16 | 0.01 |
| R. R. Gurusarwala | Independent | 16 | 0.01 |
| R. Kumar | Independent | 16 | 0.01 |
| D. Dass | Independent | 15 | 0.01 |
| B. Bari | Independent | 15 | 0.01 |
| R.K. Rahi | Independent | 15 | 0.01 |
| C.R.R. Chugh | Independent | 15 | 0.01 |
| V. Singh | Independent | 15 | 0.01 |
| C. B. L. Saxena | Jan Ekta Morcha | 15 | 0.01 |
| H. S. Dhillon | Independent | 15 | 0.01 |
| A. Shahani | Independent | 14 | 0.01 |
| G. C. Paniala | Independent | 14 | 0.01 |
| A. Jain (W) | Independent | 12 | 0.01 |
| D. Kumar | Independent | 12 | 0.01 |
| Pt. C. P. Sharma | Bharatiya Lok Tantrik Mazdoor Dal | 12 | 0.01 |
| K. J. S. Urf D. Pakad | Independent | 12 | 0.01 |
| U. Goel | Independent | 11 | 0.01 |
| B. Bharti | Independent | 11 | 0.01 |
| T. Sial | Independent | 10 | 0.01 |
| B. B. Goswami | Independent | 10 | 0.01 |
| A. Mehmood | Independent | 9 | 0.00 |
| Rattan | Independent | 9 | 0.00 |
| S. M. Ahmed | Independent | 9 | 0.00 |
| G. K. Khanna | Independent | 8 | 0.00 |
| P. Tolani | Independent | 8 | 0.00 |
| M. B. Nowhattia | Independent | 8 | 0.00 |
| D. Sharma | Independent | 7 | 0.00 |
| M. Kumar | Independent | 7 | 0.00 |
| H. R. Singh | Independent | 7 | 0.00 |
| T. Ahuja | Independent | 6 | 0.00 |
| K. D. P. M. Lal | Independent | 6 | 0.00 |
| Dr. R. K. Chitkara | Independent | 6 | 0.00 |
| P. Kumar | Independent | 5 | 0.00 |
| P. K. Gupta | Independent | 5 | 0.00 |
| M. N. Gautam | Independent | 3 | 0.00 |
The election was won by R. Khanna.[2][3] The by-election victory was interpreted as an important victory for the Congress government of P.V. Narasimha Rao.[7]
Khanna failed to be re-elected from New Delhi in 1996.[3] Sinha was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1996, and would later become a Union Minister.[14] In his 2016 autobiography Anything but Khamoosh, Sinha expressed regret over having contested the 1992 by-election against fellow actor Khanna.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Bhaichand Patel (2012). Bollywood's Top 20 Superstars of Indian Cinema. Penguin Books India. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-670-08572-9.
- ^ a b c d e Election Commission of India. Bye-election results 1952-95
- ^ a b c d Mahendra Singh Rana (2006). India Votes: Lok Sabha & Vidhan Sabha Elections 2001-2005. Sarup & Sons. p. 493. ISBN 978-81-7625-647-6.
- ^ a b M. L. Ahuja; Sharda Paul (1992). 1989-1991 General Elections in India: Including November 1991 By-elections. Associated Publishing House. p. 141. ISBN 978-81-7045-085-6.
- ^ India: A Reference Annual. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 1992. p. 833.
- ^ rediff.com. Vote for Bollywood
- ^ a b Quarterly Economic Report of the Indian Institute of Public Opinion. Vol. 35. 1992. p. 14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i India Today. Vol. 17 (1-12 ed.). Aroon Purie for Living Media India Limited. 1992. p. 50.
- ^ a b c NDTV. Shatrughan Sinha's Biggest Regret Involves Co-Star Rajesh Khanna
- ^ Meenu Roy (1992). The Battle of the ballot. Classic Pub. House. p. 154. ISBN 978-81-7193-025-8.
- ^ Frontline. A fresh polarisation in Delhi
- ^ a b Keesing's Record of World Events. Vol. 40. Longman. 1994. p. 39867.
- ^ Pakistan & Gulf Economist. Vol. 11 (40-52 ed.). Economist Publications. 1992.
- ^ Indian Express. The clout of cinema in India: From iconic star-politicians to parliamentary duds