Elections 98

State:	West Bengal
Constituency:	Alipurduars (ST)
Total Votes Polled:	827362
Winner: RSP	Joachim Baxla	415006
Runner Up: BJP	Dhirendra Narjinarai	219407
Margin: 195599 (47%)

Elections 96

State:	West Bengal
Constituency:	Alipurduars (ST)
Total Votes Polled:	854456
Winner: RSP	Joachim Baxla	437371
Runner Up: INC	Pius Tirkey	299561
Margin: 137810 (16.73%)

The first four elections from 1957 were won by the Congress, and since 1977, when Pius Tirkey won the seat for the RSP, it has been the Left component all the way. The 1996 election saw a turnaround, when five-time MP Tirkey contested on the Congress ticket and lost to the RSP's Joachim Baxla by 138,000 votes.