Lakshadweep: Island where the lotus has not yet bloomed
A Congress bastion for decades, the island in the Arabian Sea has recently returned non-Congress MPs.
The Union territory of Lakshadweep is represented by a single parliamentary constituency, which is reserved for members of scheduled tribes.
In Lakshadweep, six candidates are contesting for the sole constituency. The main parties are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). For phase 1 Lok Sabha election on April 11, number of polling centres are 51.
This time, the main contest in the archipelago is said to be between the NCP and the Congress party.
The NCP has fielded incumbent MP Mohammed Faizal to contest in the election while the Congress's candidate is Muhammed Hamdulla Sayeed. Other parties in the fray are Janata Dal (United), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India.
Presently, the state is administered by Farooq Khan, who is a former IPS officer from Jammu and Kashmir. A majority of population in Lakshadweep are said to be of Malayali origin. More than 50,000 voters of the region are Muslims.
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