Elections 98

State:	Bihar
Constituency:	Samastipur
Total Votes Polled:	801116
Winner: RJD	Ajit Kumar Mehta	301099
Runner Up: SAP	Ashok Singh	263445
Margin: 37654 (13%)

Elections 96

State:	Bihar
Constituency:	Samastipur
Total Votes Polled:	735266
Winner: JD	Ajit Kumar Mehta	400117
Runner Up: SAP	Manjay Lal	258183
Margin: 141934 (19.56%)

This was where Laloo Yadav stopped L K Advani's rath yatra in October 1990 and set off an unstoppable chain of events. This was from where the legendary strong man of Bihar, Karpoori Thakur, was elected in 1977. And this was from where he was defeated in 1984 by the Rajiv wave. After that, however, the seat has remained firmly in the grip of the Janata Dal.