At an election involving two candidates, 68 votes are declared invalid. The winning candidate gets 52% of the valid votes and wins by 98 votes. The total number of votes polled is:

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

SSC CHSL Exam 2024 Tier-I Official Paper (Held On: 08 Jul, 2024 Shift 3)

Answer 1

Given:

Invalid votes = 68

Winning candidate's share of valid votes = 52%

Winning margin = 98 votes

Formula used:

Total votes = Valid votes + Invalid votes

Let total valid votes be V.

Winning candidate's votes = 0.52V

Other candidate's votes = 0.48V

Winning margin = 0.52V - 0.48V = 98

Calculation:

0.52V - 0.48V = 98

⇒ 0.04V = 98

⇒ V = 98 / 0.04

⇒ V = 2450

Total votes = V + Invalid votes

Total votes = 2450 + 68

⇒ Total votes = 2518

∴ The correct answer is option (3).

Alternate Method

Let the total VALID votes be 100

Winner gets = 52 unit votes

Loser get = 100 - 52 = 48 unit votes

As per question,

(52 - 48) unit votes = 98

4 unit = 98

100 unit = (98/4)*100 = 2450

Total Valid votes = 2450

Total votes = Valid Votes + Invalid Votes

Total Votes = 2450 + 68 = 2518

∴ The correct answer is Option 3.

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