What happens when two candidates in a constituency poll the same number of votes? According to Section 102 of the Representation of the People Act, if there is equality of votes and if one additional vote would entitle either of them to win, and if no decision has been made by the Returning Officer under the provisions of the Act, then the High Court decides by a lot. The candidate who wins the lottery wins the election. In 2017, for instance, in the election to ward number 220 of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Shiv Sena's Surendra Bagalkar and the BJP's Atul Shah got the same number of votes. The result was decided by lottery, and Mr. Shah won.

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