Elections 98

State:	Uttar Pradesh
Constituency:	Rampur
Total Votes Polled:	818984
Winner: BJP	Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi	265116
Runner Up: INC	Begum Noor Bano Urf Mehtab Zamani Begum	260150
Margin: 4966 (2%)

Elections 96

State:	Uttar Pradesh
Constituency:	Rampur
Total Votes Polled:	746812
Winner: INC	Begam Nurbano Alias Mehtab Zamani	271330
Runner Up: BJP	Rajindra Kumar Sharma	196583
Margin: 74747 (10.18%)

Rajendra Sharma was the first non-Muslim MP from this Muslim majority constituency, and he was elected in 1977 on the BLD ticket. He managed to defeat sitting Congress MP Zulfiquar A Khan, but the Nawab of Rampur won the next three elections on the trot before losing to Sharma in 1991, who was contesting this time on the BJP ticket. In 1996, however, Sharma was defeated by the Congress's Begum Nurbano -- the Nawab's widow -- by 75,000 votes. The BSP's Rizwan ul Haq, coming third, garnered 144,870 votes.