Two candidates X and Y contested an election. 80% of voters cast their vote and there were no invalid votes. There was no NOTA (None of the above) option. X got 56% of the votes cast and won by 1440 votes. What is the total number of voters in the voters list?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 15000
X got 56% and Y 44% of the votes cast, so the winning margin is 12% of the votes cast: 1440 votes. That makes 12000 votes cast, which is 80% of the list — so the list has 15000 voters.
- With two candidates and no invalid votes, Y got 100% − 56% = 44% of the votes cast.
- Margin = 56% − 44% = 12% of the votes cast = 1440, so votes cast = 1440 ÷ 0.12 = 12000.
- Votes cast are 80% of the voters list, so total voters = 12000 ÷ 0.8 = 15000.
- Check: 12000 is 80% of 15000; X gets 6720, Y gets 5280, and 6720 − 5280 = 1440.
Remember · In two-candidate elections, the margin is (winner% − loser%) of the votes cast; convert back to the full list last.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·