CHANDIGARH

The Union Territory is also the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana. It had its first elections in 1967 as a Lok Sabha constituency.

Chandigarh, a Union Territory, is also the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana. It had its first elections in 1967 as a Lok Sabha constituency.

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The place where the city is now located was little more than a cluster of villages in the 1950s. Sikhs, at 22 per cent, form its largest community, followed by Scheduled Castes (13 per cent).

It was originally a Congress bastion, with the party winning the seat thrice -- in 1971, 1984 and 1991. However, the BJP has held sway lately, winning both the 1996 and the 1998 polls.

Sitting MP, Satya Pal Jain, also won in 1996. JN Kaushal is the only other candidate to have won the seat twice.