A plain of alluvium between the Ghaghara and the Terhi, 4,003 square kilometres of farmland, wetland and sal forest, and a Lok Sabha seat, 59-Gonda, that spans two districts.
All figures are from the District Census Handbook, Gonda (Census of India 2011, Part XII-A). They describe Gonda district. The Lok Sabha constituency has a different boundary, described below.
District Census Handbook, Gonda, Census of India 2011: censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/1218
Sections 01–06 describe Gonda's geography, history, economy, services and environment, using Census, district administration and Government of India sources. These facts are independent of any representative.
Sections 07–08 set out the election record and the Gonda-specific matters Kirtivardhan Singh raised in the Lok Sabha, as recorded by PRS Legislative Research and the Press Information Bureau. Raising a matter is not the same as delivering it; outcomes are not claimed here unless documented.
Gonda lies in north-east Uttar Pradesh between 26°47′ and 27°20′ N and 81°30′ and 82°46′ E. The land falls gently from north-west to south-east, from about 390 feet to about 310 feet opposite Ayodhya.
The District Census Handbook describes two natural regions. The Uparhar, or Gonda plain, is upland that stays clear of floods and has loam (dumat) soils. The Tarhar is the Ghaghara flood plain, about 15 feet lower and liable to flooding in heavy rain. Its light, porous loam grades into sand.
The Ghaghara forms the district's southern boundary with Barabanki and Ayodhya (Faizabad). Within the district, the Terhi winds for about 88 km between entry and exit, and the Saryu is the chief stream between the Terhi and the Ghaghara. The Kuwana, Bisuhi, Manwar and Chandai are smaller streams. The Parbati and Argha tals are the chief lakes.
The climate has four seasons. January is the coldest month and May the hottest, with recorded normals ranging from 44.8 °C to 4.9 °C. Rainfall varies widely from year to year.
District Census Handbook, Gonda (2011), pp. 6–8; District administration, gonda.nic.in/about-district
The documented history below comes from the District Census Handbook and the district administration. Where something rests on tradition rather than record, the text says so.
Ancient
Part of Kosala
The area formed part of the Kosala kingdom and later came under Shravasti (North Kosala). The district administration also records traditions linking the upper Saryu region with King Dilip and the ashram of Vasishtha.
DCHB p. 3; gonda.nic.in/history
Name
"Gontha", a cattle station
By tradition the site was a cattle station (gontha) of the Kalhan Rajas of Khurasa. Raja Man Singh founded the town, building a palace and a moat.
DCHB p. 3
1856
A separate district
After the annexation of Awadh, Gonda became a separate district in February 1856, within the Gonda–Bahraich Commissionership. In 1857 Raja Devi Bakhsh Singh of Gonda "took a leading part" in the uprising.
DCHB pp. iii, 4
1927
Rajendra Nath Lahiri
The Kakori case revolutionary Rajendra Nath Lahiri was hanged in Gonda district jail on 17 December 1927. His death anniversary is observed there.
1929
Gandhi and Nehru visit
Mahatma Gandhi visited Gonda on 9 October 1929 with Jawaharlal Nehru. Lala Lajpat Rai had visited in 1908.
DCHB p. 4
1997
Balrampur separated
Balrampur district was carved out of Gonda, taking the Tulsipur, Balrampur and Utraula tehsils. The Devipatan temple, which gives the division its name, is in Tulsipur, now in Balrampur district.
DCHB p. 68; balrampur.nic.in
Chhapaiya, in Gonda district, is the birthplace of Swaminarayan (born Ghanshyam Pande, 1781). The shrine is built of Mirzapur and Jaipur stone and marble and draws crowds in Kartik and on Ram Navami.
gonda.nic.in; DCHB p. 69
The district administration notes that Maharishi Patanjali described himself as Gonardiya, a name associated with Gonda. Kondar village near Wazirganj is locally held to be his birthplace. This is a tradition, not an established historical fact.
The folk poet Ghagh was born at Gonda in 1530. Jigar Moradabadi and Asghar Gondvi made Gonda their home. Beni Madho Das of Gonda, a companion of Tulsidas, wrote Goshain Charitra. Tulsidas's own birthplace is disputed and is not claimed here.
DCHB p. 69
The district lists Prithvinath (Khargupur), Barahi Devi, Khaira Bhavani and Dukhharan Nath among its heritage temples. Sagar Talab, a tank dug by Raja Seo Prasad Singh, has a temple on its island.
gonda.nic.in/history; DCHB pp. 68–69
Under the Delimitation Order 2008, the 59-Gonda Lok Sabha constituency has five assembly segments. Four are in Gonda district and one, Utraula, is in Balrampur district. Gonda district's other three segments (Katra Bazar, Colonelganj and Tarabganj) belong to 57-Kaiserganj.
Election Commission of India, Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008
Cultivators (37.6%) and agricultural labourers (36.9%) make up about three-quarters of Gonda's workers. The work participation rate is 34.1% (Census 2011).
Wheat is the leading crop, followed by paddy. Kharif crops also include maize, sugarcane, jowar and bajra; rabi crops include barley and gram. The Tarhar tract grows melons, watermelon and sweet potato.
DCHB pp. 8–9
Irrigation reaches 81.58% of the cultivable area. The Census Handbook records no canal network in the district; farms rely on tube wells and pumping sets.
DCHB p. 9
Under Uttar Pradesh's One District One Product scheme, Gonda's product is food processing of pulses (arhar, gram, masoor, urad and moong), including cleaning, grading, milling, polishing and packaging.
ITI Limited's Mankapur unit was set up in 1983 to make electronic switching systems. It later made OCB/CSN exchanges and now makes GSM base-station racks and LED/solar products. The Census Handbook also records a few sugar mills. Nawabganj is noted for tobacco products, sugar and liquor.
itiltd.in/mankapur; DCHB p. 9, Table 45
| Area | Documented facts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rail | Gonda Junction is on the Lucknow–Gorakhpur line in the Lucknow Division of North Eastern Railway, which also runs a diesel shed at Gonda. | NER, Lucknow Division |
| Road | NH-330 (Ayodhya–Balrampur section) passes through Gonda city. | MoRTH |
| Air | The district lists Lucknow airport as the nearest airport (about 133 km). Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya Dham, was inaugurated on 30 December 2023. | gonda.nic.in; AAI |
| Schools | 2,396 primary schools, 1,066 higher primary schools, 221 higher secondary schools and 10 colleges. | gonda.nic.in |
| Health | The Autonomous State Medical College, Gonda, is linked to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University. | asmcgonda.org |
The sanctuary was notified on 23 May 1990 and covers 693.82 ha across two lakes about 1.5 km apart. It lies about 45 km from Gonda city on the Mankapur–Nawabganj road, and 153 bird species have been recorded there. It was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on 2 December 2019, with a Ramsar area of 722 ha.
MoEFCC, List of Ramsar sites (30.01.2025); UP Eco-tourism Board
Tikri forest, about 7,500 ha of sal and teak, is being developed for eco-tourism. The Tarhar flood plain along the Ghaghara floods in heavy rain.
On 18 August 2026 the Ghaghara was reported 50 cm above the danger mark at Elgin Bridge. Five villages in Tarabganj tehsil were flooded, about 9,000 people were affected, and 72 boats were deployed.
ThePrint / PTI, 23 Oct 2024; DCHB p. 6; Aaj Tak, 18 Aug 2026
Results of the last three general elections from Election Commission of India data. Vote share is the share of total votes polled, including NOTA.
| Year | Winner | Votes | Runner-up | Margin | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kirti Vardhan Singh (BJP), 49.77% | 474,258 | Shreya Verma (SP), 428,034 | 46,224 | 51.7% |
| 2019 | Kirti Vardhan Singh (BJP), 55.01% | 508,190 | Vinod Kumar alias Pandit Singh (SP), 341,830 | 166,360 | 53.0% |
| 2014 | Kirti Vardhan Singh (BJP), 41.16% | 359,643 | Nandita Shukla (SP), 199,227 | 160,416 | 51.1% |
Election Commission of India results pages (archived): 2024, 2019, 2014. Turnout as compiled by IndiaVotes. Earlier elections, 1998–2009, are on the Journey page.
Constituency matters raised under Rule 377 or as special mentions in the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha, as listed by PRS Legislative Research. As a Union Minister in the 18th Lok Sabha, he does not ask questions, so no private-member entries appear for that term.
PRS Legislative Research, MP Track: 16th Lok Sabha, 17th Lok Sabha, 18th Lok Sabha
PIB, PRID 2098981