Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Bishnu Pada Ray defeated Congress MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma again to win the parliamentary seat of Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the fourth time. Ray secured 1,02,436 votes on June 4 with a share of 50.58 per cent while Sharma got 78,040 votes (38.54 per cent). Andaman and Nicobar is a GENERAL category seat, which comprises a single Assembly segment - Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The seat went for voting in the first phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections on April 19.
Interestingly, the MP for Andaman and Nicobar Islands was not elected, but appointed by the President of India, until the 1967 election. This seat has been historically dominated by Congress, except when BJP won it in 1999, 2009 and 2014. It remains to be seen whether the BJP can defeat Congress once again this year.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Key candidates and parties
There are a total of 3.15 lakh voters from this island. A total of 12 candidates, including two women and five Independents, are vying for the Lok Sabha seat this year. However, the BJP and the Congress are the dominant parties in this seat. The BJP had fielded former MP Bishnu Pada Ray as its candidate against incumbent Congress candidate Kuldeep Rai Sharma. Ray was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999 from this seat after defeating Sharma. Since then, he has been re-elected two more times, in the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and 2014.
However, Ray was denied a ticket from this seat in the 2019 elections, and Sharma secured a narrow victory against BJP's Vishal Jolly to become the MP. Ray's comeback into the political fray made this battle much more interesting, but the BJP managed to break into the erstwhile Congress stronghold once again. The spoils of victory are great, as the islands play a crucial role in India's defence architecture, including the Andaman and Nicobar Command.'
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Date of polls
This constituency went for polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on April 19.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Voter turnout
Andaman and Nicobar Islands secured a voter turnout of 64.10 per cent in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in the first phase on April 19, marginally less than the 65.12 per cent it recorded in the 2019 elections.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Date of results
The results of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha Elections were declared on June 4.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha Elections 2024: What happened in 2019 and 2014?
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kuldeep Rai Sharma secured a narrow victory, defeating BJP's Vishal Jolly by just 1,407 votes. Sharma got 95,308 votes with a vote share of 46 per cent while Jolly secured 93,901 votes (45.28 per cent). The voter turnout was 65.12 per cent in 2019.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP's Bishnu Pada Ray defeated Kuldeep Rai Sharma with a margin of 7,812 votes. Ray won the seat for the third time by winning 90,969 votes with a vote share of 47.79 per cent, while Sharma secured 83,157 votes (43.69 per cent). The voter turnout was 70.66 per cent in 2014.
