Story in numbers: Analysing the victory margins of new Lok Sabha MPs

In Lok sabha 2019 elections, some candidates won with 74.4% vote share and some won with vote share as low as 29.4% making a compelling argument to reform Indian elections

The victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha election was historic because of two factors: The number of seats the BJP took, as well as the enormity of the margin by which several leaders won. For example, Darshana V Jardosh from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency won with the biggest vote share: She got 74.4 per cent (790,000) of the vote. 

Running her close was C R Patil from the Navsari Lok Sabha constituency: He secured a vote share of  74.3 per cent  and got more than 900,000 votes.

But some successful candidates had low vote shares. Mohammad Akbar Lone of the the National Conference contested from the Baramulla seat and got only 29.4 per cent of the vote but was elected. Hasnain Masoodi (National Conference, Anantnag) got just 31 per cent of the vote.

These numbers represent the variegated nature of India’s Lower House and make a compelling argument for reform in the way India is represented.

Chart. Source: ADR

Source: ADR