Lok Sabha polls 2024: Lakshadweep to vote in a single phase on April 19

The Lok Sabha elections in Lakshadweep will be held in a single phase on April 19. Results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be announced on June 4.

Lakshadweep is a single Lok Sabha constituency itself. With 55 polling stations across it's islands, the total number of general electors in the Union Territory as of January 5, 2024 were 57,594, as per the official website of its's Chief Electoral Officer.

Lakshadweep's sitting Member of Parliament (MP) is Mohammed Faizal Padippura of the Nationalist Congress Party.

In the 2019 general elections, he defeated the Indian National Congress's Hamdullah Sayeed by 823 vote, which is a margin of 1.8 per cent.

Notably, among all the parties that fielded candidates in the 2019 general elections in Lakhsadweep, the BJP candidate Abdul Khader Haji secured the lowest votes—125.

As per the Population Census of 2011, Muslims constitute around 96.58 per cent of Lakshadweep's population. With the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and other minority bodies planning to approach the Election Commission seeking a change polling dates that fall on Fridays, and with April 19 being a Friday this year, it remains to be seen whether the polling date for Lakshadweep gets changed later.

The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases spread over 44 days starting April 19 in the world’s largest election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi eyeing a third consecutive term in office.

Announcing the poll schedule to elect the 543-member Lok Sabha, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a news conference on Saturday that over 97 crore voters--49.7 crore male and 47.1 crore female--are eligible to cast their votes across 10.5 lakh polling booths.

While the opposition INDIA bloc remains hit by internal bickerings, Modi, 73, is not just looking to stamp his electoral dominance in the country but is also chasing history looking for another consecutive victory that will equal the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s record.

With PTI inputs