1992 New Delhi by-election

1992 New Delhi Lok Sabha seat by-election

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<- 1991

1996 ->

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Candidate  | Rajesh Khanna | Shatrughan Sinha
Party  | INC | BJP

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]

## Background[edit]

Bharatiya 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[edit]

A 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  | %

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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

[2]

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]

1. ^ 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.
2. ^ a b c d e Election Commission of India. Bye-election results 1952-95
3. ^ 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.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ India: A Reference Annual. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 1992. p. 833.
6. ^ rediff.com. Vote for Bollywood
7. ^ a b Quarterly Economic Report of the Indian Institute of Public Opinion. Vol. 35\. 1992. p. 14.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ a b c NDTV. Shatrughan Sinha's Biggest Regret Involves Co-Star Rajesh Khanna
10. ^ Meenu Roy (1992). The Battle of the ballot. Classic Pub. House. p. 154\. ISBN 978-81-7193-025-8.
11. ^ Frontline. A fresh polarisation in Delhi
12. ^ a b Keesing's Record of World Events. Vol. 40\. Longman. 1994. p. 39867.
13. ^ Pakistan & Gulf Economist. Vol. 11 (40-52 ed.). Economist Publications. 1992.
14. ^ Indian Express. The clout of cinema in India: From iconic star-politicians to parliamentary duds