18th Lok Sabha: Of the 543 winners, 253 have won with a vote margin of less than 10%
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the average winning margin has seen a decline compared to the 2019 and the previous elections. Fewer winners secured more than half the votes in their respective constituencies.
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, while the winners of the 2019 elections garnered an average of 52.65% of the votes polled, the 2024 winners averaged only 50.58%. Additionally, the winning average in 2024 is 33.44% of the registered voters, a slight drop from the 35.46% seen in 2019.
While 51% of the 2019 winners surpassed the halfway mark in votes polled, only 49% managed this feat in 2024, translating to 279 and 263 winners, respectively.
Party-wise Percent of Margin of Victory
A closer look at the party-wise performance reveals that 279 winners (51%) secured more than half the votes in their constituencies, while 263 winners (49%) did not reach the halfway mark. Among the major parties, the BJP saw 75 out of its 239 winners (31%) securing less than 50% of the vote share.
For the Congress, 57 out of 99 winners (58%) won with less than 50% of the votes. Among regional parties, the Samajwadi Party had 32 out of 37 winners (86%) securing less than 50% of the votes, the Trinamool Congress had 21 out of 29 winners (72%), and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had 14 out of 22 winners (64%).
Interestingly, the Congress had the highest number of winners with less than 10% of the victory margin, followed by the Samajwadi Party, Trinamool and DMK.
BJP MPs with Highest Vote & Victory Margin
Despite a decline in seats, BJP's winning candidates still polled more than those from other parties. The BJP also stands out as the only party with five candidates securing victory with more than 50% of the vote margin.
Notable names include Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, CR Patil, Amit Shah, Biplab Kumar Deb, and Shankar Lalwani. On the other hand, Shiv Sena's Mumbai North West MP Ravindra Dattaram won by just 48 votes, while Congress's Adoor Prakash from Attingal, Kerala, won by 684 votes. Of the 543 winners, 253 have won with a vote margin of less than 10%, including 100 BJP MPs, 55 from Congress, 27 from Samajwadi Party, and 13 from Trinamool Congress.
Crorepati vs Non-Crorepati Winners
The financial background of the candidates also played a significant role in the election outcomes. Among the winners, 54 out of 503 crorepati winners triumphed over non-crorepati runners-up. Notably, five of these winners secured victory with more than a 30% margin, with Shankar Lalwani (BJP) from Indore achieving a 64.54% margin of victory.
Conversely, 31 out of 39 non-crorepati winners emerged victorious against crorepati runners-up. Among these, two winners had a margin of victory exceeding 30%, with Bharatbhai Manubhai Sutariya (BJP) from Amreli winning with a 36.63% margin of victory