Bhopal's only election
Bhopal's only election ended in a landslide — then the state itself was absorbed into Madhya Pradesh.
Bhopal's only election
What happened
Bhopal's short-lived assembly saw a single, lopsided election.
Indian National Congress won 25 of the 30 seats.
That was a landslide — 9 seats clear of the majority mark.
Its vote share — the slice of all ballots cast that went to one party or candidate — was a slimmer 52.0%.
What changed
Bhopal's assembly never got a rematch — the state itself did not last long enough for another vote.
Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Bhopal state merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956, with Bhopal city becoming the new state's capital. The 1951 Bhopal Legislative Assembly election, held in March 1952, was the state's only one before its assembly merged into the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha.
Under that reorganisation, Bhopal's assembly folded into Madhya Pradesh's own legislature.
Some seats used a multi-member design, sending more than one member to the assembly per contest.
7 of the 23 constituencies worked this way.
Notable numbers
A few numbers from Bhopal's only election stand out.
The closest contest was in Amrawad, Bhopal, decided by just 26 votes — the narrowest margin, how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second, of any seat in the election.
At the other extreme, Udaipur, Bhopal was won by 64.6% of the vote — the widest margin of any seat that election, measured as a share of the vote rather than in votes.
The most crowded ballot of the election was in Silwani, Bhopal, where 8 candidates stood.
Turnout across the state — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — came to just 38.7%.
The backdrop
The rest of the vote went to independents and smaller parties.
Independent candidates were the largest, with 4 seats and 22.9% of the vote.