find second highest value from a table

[eluser]Bigil Michael[/eluser]
i want to find the second maximum value from a table

can any one help me??
urgent..
thanks in advance

[eluser]Bigil Michael[/eluser]
query me used

Code:

SELECT * FROM candidate_details
WHERE
candidate_votes IN (SELECT MAX(candidate_votes) FROM candidate_details
WHERE
candidate_votes <> (SELECT MAX(candidate_votes) FROM candidate_details))

this code print correct result.

when i added 2 extra conditions like this

SELECT * FROM candidate_details
WHERE
candidate_votes IN (SELECT MAX(candidate_votes) FROM candidate_details
WHERE
candidate_votes <> (SELECT MAX(candidate_votes) FROM candidate_details))
AND constituency_id = '2' AND elect_year = '2011'

it prints 0 rows

can anyone help me????
thanks in advance.....

[eluser]Bigil Michael[/eluser]
can anyone help me??????????