Elections 98

State:	Bihar
Constituency:	Balia
Total Votes Polled:	624626
Winner: RJD	Rajbanshi Mahto	240119
Runner Up: CPI	Shatraghna Pd. Singh	187635
Margin: 52484 (22%)

Elections 96

State:	Bihar
Constituency:	Balia
Total Votes Polled:	537617
Winner: CPI	Shatrughan Prasad Singh	267482
Runner Up: BJP	Ram Lakhan Singh	179148
Margin: 88334 (16.81%)

In the last three elections it was the CPI that scored, its share of the popular vote not dipping below 50 % even once. Significantly, in 1996, the runner-up position had been yielded to the BJP which cornered 34 % of the vote.