Mainpuri LS seat: In 1957 elections, candidate got zero votes

The Mainpuri parliamentary constituency, which has been the Samajwadi Party's stronghold for over two-and-half decades, interestingly also bears testimony to a candidate securing zero votes.

In other words, the candidate -- Shanker Lal, who contested an independent candidate in the 1957 general elections -- did not even get his own vote as it was deemed invalid.

According to the Election Commission of India records, six candidates were in the fray, the other being Bansi Das Dhangar of the Praja Socialist Party, Badshah (Congress), Jagdish Singh (All India Bhartiya Jan Sangh) and independent candidates Mani Ram and Puttoo Singh.

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Bansi Das Dhangar of the PSP emerged winner, bagging 59,902 votes (30.45 per cent) out of the 1,96,750 votes polled, while Badshah of the Congress was the runner-up with 56,072 votes (28.50 per cent).

Jagdish Singh of the All India Bhartiya Jan Sangh polled 46,627 votes (23.70 per cent).

Independent candidates Mani Ram and Puttoo Singh got 17,972 (9.13 per cent) and 16,177 (8.22 per cent) votes, respectively.

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Shanker Lal who finished at the last spot, got zero votes.

According to the ECI, in all, there were over 3.93 lakh voters (3,93,180), of whom a little over 50 per cent voted exercised their right.

The current bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav in October.

His elder daughter-in-law and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav has been fielded from the seat.

The counting of votes will take place on December 8.

The Mainpuri parliamentary constituency has five assembly segments of Mainpuri, Bhogaon, Kishni, Karhal and Jaswant Nagar.

In the 2022 assembly elections, the SP had won the Karhal, Kishni and the Jaswant Nagar seats, while the BJP had won the Mainpuri and the Bhogaon seats.

Akhilesh Yadav's Karhal assembly seat is part of Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency and so is Jaswant Nagar, which is represented by his uncle Shivpal Yadav.