Lakshadweep Lok Sabha Polls: Candidates set sail on boats as they become campaign battlefronts ahead of polls
Lakshadweep's 10 inhabited islands, set for polls on April 19.
Candidates and Past Results
Sitting MP Mohammed Faizal PP is seeking re-election but this time he doesn’t have the clock symbol that got him elected for the past two terms. In 2019, 46,909 voters cast their votes and Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed of Congress lost by a mere 823 votes. In 2014, Faizal beat Sayeed by a margin of 1,535 votes. Sayeed is contesting again for Congress. With NCP splitting, Yousuf TP has been fielded by the official faction while Faizal is contesting as a candidate of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Political Landscape
Apart from the two main parties — NCP and Congress — candidates contested under the banner of CPM, CPI, BJP, and JD(U) in 2019. These parties secured a total of 2,030 votes, more than the victory margin. But this year, only three political parties are in the fray, apart from an independent; and these 2,000-odd votes could very well decide the winner.
Candidate Perspectives
Faizal says that the voters in Lakshadweep are smart enough to choose the right candidate. “Lakshadweep has a small number of voters, and they are very familiar with the name and photo. Not having the clock sym bol wouldn’t matter much. BJP contested here in the last two elections, and it is not contesting this year, making it evident that NCP Ajit Pawar faction candidate is an NDA candidate. There is no situation prevailing on the islands that is favourable for BJP,” he says.
Congress’s Hamdullah Sayeed (left) has lost back-to-back LS contests to
