Elections 98

State:	Maharashtra
Constituency:	Bhandara
Total Votes Polled:	671799
Winner: INC	Patel Praful Manoharbhai	324542
Runner Up: BJP	Narayandas Durgaprasadji Saraf	305236
Margin: 19306 (6%)

Elections 96

State:	Maharashtra
Constituency:	Bhandara
Total Votes Polled:	616741
Winner: INC	Patel Praful Manoharbhai	259630
Runner Up: BJP	Aswale Ram Gopal	252667
Margin: 6963 (1.15%)

Just twice has the Congress lost this seat, once in 1977 to the BLD and next to the BJP's K P Sopche in 1989. In 1991 and 1996, businessman and Pawar associate Praful Patel won the seat for the Congress, the last time by just 7,000 votes to the BJP's Ram Aswale.