Elections 98

State:	Bihar
Constituency:	Gopalganj
Total Votes Polled:	715,380
Winner: SAP	Abdul Ghafoor	322,012
Runner Up: RJD	Lal Babu Yadav	253,407
Margin: 68,605 (21%)

Elections 96

State:	Bihar
Constituency:	Gopalganj
Total Votes Polled:	685,446
Winner: JD	Lal Babu Yadav	298,356
Runner Up: INC	Kali Prasad Pandey	178,860
Margin: 119,496 (17.68%)

The last time the Congress won this seat was in 1984, thanks to Kali Prasad Pandey. Since then he has come in second in every election, always to the Janata Dal. Even the BJP-Samata Party combine could not stop the JD from altering this equation; in 1996, this alliance could manage only the third place.