116. Santhanuthalapadu

Indian National Congress held the seat; the winning margin narrowed from 32.6% to 19.2%.

Boundaries were redrawn between 1972 and 1978 — the comparison is matched by name and is indicative only.

• Won on a lower shareIts own vote share fell 15.8% — it held because the rest of the vote was more divided.
• New challengerCommunist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) finished second with 27.6% — it did not contest here in 1972.
• Vote fragmentedThe top two took only 74.4% between them, down from 92.6% — the field split more ways.

Written from the constituency figures by a fixed set of rules — no language model.