168. Balaghat

Indian National Congress held the seat; the winning margin narrowed from 40.4% to 34.9%.

• Won on a lower shareIts own vote share fell 10.9% — it held because the rest of the vote was more divided.
• New challengerPraja Socialist Party (PSP) finished second with 19.8% — it did not contest here in 1951.
• Vote fragmentedThe top two took only 74.4% between them, down from 90.7% — the field split more ways.

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