Here is an election special quiz. Hoping I don’t have to do another one around this time next year!

1 Rae Bareli has been a safe seat for the Congress since Independence, with both Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi winning from there. But who was the first Congress party member to win from Rae Bareli?

2 You think only our television channels get it wrong! “________ defeats Truman” was a famously incorrect banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent democrat Harry S Truman won an upset victory over his Republican challenger. Who did Truman beat, which was completely misreported by the Tribune the next morning?

3 She won the 2011 MP elections as a Labour candidate from Hampstead and Kilburn by the narrowest of margins. However, her Academy award wins for Women in Love ( 1970) and A Touch of Class (1973) were both pretty emphatic. Identify this talented actress-turned-politician.

4 Which Harvard alumni lost the 1997 Presidential elections to KR Narayanan?

5 The BSP is allowed the elephant as its symbol in all but two Indian States. Name any one of the two, both of which have strong local parties with the elephant as their symbol.

6 Fill in the blanks in this election slogan of the ’70s to identify this colourful politician. Na Nar na Nari , Indira Ka Pujari , Sanjay Ka Sawari ________ ? I promise you that you have definitely heard of him!

7 Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the only politician who has won from six different constituencies: Balrampur — 1957, 1967, Gwalior — 1971, New Delhi — 1977, 1980, Vidisha — 1991, Gandhinagar — 1996, Lucknow — 1991, 1996, 1998. But even he lost the 1984 elections from Gwalior in the sympathy wave after Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Who defeated him in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections?

8 Charles Dunbar Burgess King won the 1927 Presidential elections in his country getting a total of 2,34,000 votes. An amazing result, especially since his country had only 15,000 registered voters at the time. Which African country did King lead between 1920 and 1930?

9 Which political term was coined by the Boston Gazette in 1812 in reaction to the redrawing of a US state district in order to benefit a particular political party? The name originated from the governor who signed the order, and the animal a particular district’s shape resembled.

10 Which sportsman fought the 1971 Lok Sabha elections on a Vishal Haryana ticket after Mrs Gandhi cancelled the privy purse for former royals? He lost, incidentally.

Answers

1. Feroze Gandhi, who was the MP in 1952 and 1957.

2. Thomas Dewey. To be fair it was considered a major upset.

3. Glenda Jackson

4. TN Seshan, the 10th Election Commissioner, and arguably, the one who brought the post into public prominence.

5. The Asom Gana Parishad in Assam and the Sikkim Sangram Parishad. Part points allowed.

6. ND Tiwary. Former cabinet minister, three time UP CM, and not so proud father.

7. Madhav Rao Scindia

8. Liberia

9. Gerrymander, named after Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry and the salamander shape of the redrawn district.

10. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the Indian cricket captain.

Joy Bhattacharjyais a quiz master, Director - Kolkata Knight Riders and author of Junior Premier League — The First XI

Follow Joy on Twitter >@joybhattacharj

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