2019 Lok Sabha Election Results for Lakshadweep: UPA wins the sole seat

Lakshadweep, which is predominantly ruled by Nationalist Congress Party saw a high-octane battle between the NDA alliance and the UPA alliance for the single Lok Sabha seat, which polled in a single phase on April 11. 

The union territory forms a single Indian district and before its first election in 1967, its member of parliament (MP) was directly appointed by the President of India. The present administrator is Mr. Farooq Khan who governs the 10 Sub Divisions of the territory. It comes under the jurisdiction of the Kerala High Court at Kochi along with a system of lower courts.

Congress won the solitary seat in the island, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

KEY LEADERS IN FRAY:  

The key candidates in the Lakshadweep constituency which is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe community are Mohammed Faizal PP of NCP, Hamdullah Sayeed of Congress and Abdul Khader Haji of BJP.

REPUBLIC DOUBLE EXIT POLLS PREDICTION: 

In terms of seats, UPA is projected to win the solitary seat. The UPA is projected to lead the pack garnering 74.6% of the votes. 'Others' is projected to follow with 22% of the votes, while the NDA is projected to trail with 3.4% of the votes. 

Campaign and Controversy: 

Ahead of the elections, a massive controversy broke when Prime Minister Modi during a campaign rally said that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi insulted Indian warship INS Viraat misusing it as a 'personal taxi' for himself and his in-laws for their vacation at an island in the Lakshadweep archipelago. 

Following the development, Lakshadweep Congress defied the claim saying that the late PM was there for some official program.

Previous Elections background: 

Lakshadweep is predominantly ruled by Congress. In 2014,  Mohammed Faizal P. P. of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won the seat with 50.11% of votes and currently represents the constituency in the current 16th Lok Sabha. He contested the election opposite Muhammed Hamdulla Sayeed of Indian National Congress and M. P. Sayed Mohammed Koya of BJP.  

Its first election in 1967 the seat was won by independent politician, P. M. Sayeed, who in 1971 represented the Indian National Congress and was elected unopposed. He continued to remain in the position for the next eight elections consecutively before being defeated by 71 votes in the 2004 election by P. Pookunhi Koya of the Janata Dal (United) party. In the 2009 election, Sayeed's son, Muhammed Hamdulla Sayeed, contested the election for INC and won the seat.