It Is Unique Official at 15:39, 26 March 2026

2026-03-26T15:39:24Z

New page

{{Short description|none}}
{{orphan|date=January 2026}}
The [[1996 Indian general election]] was held in [[Puducherry (union territory)|Pondicherry]] on to elect 1 member of the [[11th Lok Sabha]].<ref>{{Cite web
|url=https://old.eci.gov.in/files/file/4123-general-election-1996-vol-i-ii/
|title=General Election 1996, Vol I & II
|website=Election Commission of India (Archived)
|language=en
|access-date=2026-01-29
}}</ref>

The contest was primarily between two alliances. The INC–AIADMK alliance fielded a joint candidate from the INC, the incumbent MP M. O. H. Farook.

The DMK–TMC(M) alliance fielded a joint candidate from the DMK.

Other parties that fielded candidates included PMK, BJP, MDMK, along with several other parties and independent candidates.
== Election schedule ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;margin:auto;font-size:90%;"
! rowspan="2" | Poll event
! Phase
|-
| bgcolor="#FFFACD" | I
|-
! Date of poll
| '''27 April 1996'''
|-
! Date of counting of votes
| '''8 May 1996'''
|-
! Declaration of result
| '''11 May 1996'''
|}

==Voter Turnout==
In the 1996 Pondicherry Lok Sabha election, the total number of electors was 6,33,635. Out of these, 4,77,437 voters cast their votes, resulting in a poll percentage of 75.35%. The number of valid votes recorded was 4,60,322.
==Constituency Data - Summary==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;margin:auto;font-size:90%;"
! Category !! Male !! Female !! Total
|-
| Nominated
| 28
| 1
| 29
|-
| Rejected
| 0
| 0
| 0
|-
| Withdrawn
| 8
| 0
| 8
|-
| Contested
| 20
| 1
| 21
|-
| Forfeited Deposit
| 18
| 1
| 19
|}
==Parties and alliances==
=== Indian National Congress ===
{{legend2|{{party color|Indian National Congress}}|[[Indian National Congress]]}}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!colspan="2"|Party
!Flag
!Symbol
!Leader
!Seats contested
|-
|{{party color cell|Indian National Congress}}
|[[Indian National Congress]]
|[[File:Indian National Congress Flag.svg|50px]]
|[[File:Hand INC.svg|50px]]
|[[M. O. H. Farook]]
|1
|-
|}

=== Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ===
{{legend2|{{party color|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]}}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!colspan="2"|Party
!Symbol
!Leader
!Seats contested
|-
|{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]
|
|S. Arumugham
|1
|-
|}

===Others===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!colspan="2"|Party
!Flag
!Symbol
!Leader
!Seats contested
|-
|{{party color cell|Bharatiya Janata Party}}
|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
|[[File:BJP Flag.svg|50px]]
|[[File:Lotus flower symbol.svg|50px]]
|S. Thiyagarajan
|1
|-
|{{party color cell|Pattali Makkal Katchi}}
|[[Pattali Makkal Katchi]]
|[[File:PMK.svg|50px]]
|[[File:Pattali Makkal Katchi Ripe Mango Symbol.png|50px]]
|Bavany Madura Cavy
|1
|-
|{{party color cell|Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}
|[[Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|Marumalarchi Dravida<br>Munnetra Kazhagam]]
|[[File:MDMK.svg|50px]]
|
|R. Balasubramani
|1
|-
|}
==Results by Party==
Source:<ref>{{Cite web
|url=https://www.latestly.com/elections/loksabha-elections/1996/pondicherry/pondicherry/
|title=Pondicherry Lok Sabha Election 1996 Results
|website=LatestLY
|language=en
|access-date=2026-01-29
}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="4" rowspan="2" | Party Name
! colspan="3" | Popular vote
! colspan="3" | Seats
|-
! Votes
! %
! ±[[Percentage point|pp]]
! Contested
! Won
! '''+/−'''
|-
| {{Party color cell|Indian National Congress}}
| colspan="3"|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
| 1,83,986
| 39.97
|
| 1
| 1
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}
| colspan="3"|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
| 1,83,702
| 39.91
|
| 1
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Bharatiya Janata Party}}
| colspan="3"|[[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]
| 20,351
| 4.42
|
| 1
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Pattali Makkal Katchi}}
| colspan="3"|[[Pattali Makkal Katchi|PMK]]
| 19,792
| 4.30
|
| 1
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}
| colspan="3"|[[Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|MDMK]]
| 13,397
| 2.91
|
| 1
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Bahujan Samaj Party}}
| colspan="3"|[[Bahujan Samaj Party|BSP]]
| 4,005
| 0.87
|
| 1
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Indian Congress (Socialist)}}
| colspan="3"|[[Indian Congress (Socialist)|IC(S)]]
| 3,819
| 0.83
|
| 1
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Janata Party}}
| colspan="3"|[[Janata Party|JP]]
| 1,823
| 0.40
|
| 1
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Independent (politician)}}
| colspan="3" | [[Independent (politician)|IND]]
| 29,447
| 6.40
|
| 13
| 0
| {{steady}}
|-
! colspan="4" | Total
! 4,60,322
! 100%
! -
! 21
! 1
! -
|}

==Detailed Result==
In the Pondicherry Lok Sabha constituency, M. O. H. Farook of the Indian National Congress (INC) won the election by a narrow margin, securing 1,83,986 votes (39.97%). He defeated S. Arumugham of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), who polled 1,83,702 votes (39.91%).<ref>{{Cite web
|url=https://www.indiavotes.com/lok-sabha/1996/pondicherry/11/39
|title=1996 Lok Sabha election results for Pondicherry
|website=IndiaVotes.com
|language=en
|access-date=2026-01-29
}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Constituency
! colspan="5" | Winner
! colspan="5" | Runner-up
! colspan="2" | Margin
|-
! Candidate
! colspan="2" | Party
! Votes
! %
! Candidate
! colspan="2" | Party
! Votes
! %
! Votes
! %
|-
! 1
| [[Puducherry Lok Sabha constituency|Pondicherry ]]
| [[M. O. H. Farook]]
| {{party name with color|Indian National Congress}}
| 183,986
| 39.97
| S. Arumugham
| {{party name with color|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}
| 183,702
| 39.91
| style="background:{{party color|Indian National Congress}} ; color:white;" | 284
| style="background:{{party color|Indian National Congress}} ; color:white;" | 0.06
|-
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1996 Indian general election by state or union territory|Pondicherry]]
[[Category:Elections in Puducherry]]

1996 Indian general election in Pondicherry - Revision history

It Is Unique Official at 15:39, 26 March 2026