Andaman And Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha Constituency: Full list of candidates, polling dates

Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha constituency is the only Parliamentary constituency in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which covers the entire length and breadth of this Union Territory. 

Andaman and Nicobar Islands registered 65.18 percent voter turnout in 2019, a loss of 5.53 percent. The total number of electors in the constituency is 317878 while the total voter turnout is 207208. While in 2014, the constituency registered 70.71 percent voter turnout. The total number of electors in the constituency was 268940 while the total voter's turnout was 190175.

The first phase of voting in the lone constituency of Andaman and Nicobar ended on April 11. The fate of 15 candidates will be decided on May 23 when counting of votes takes place and the result is declared.

While political developments in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands do not make the mainland news each time, the contribution of the union territory in the democratic process of choosing the government is as significant as that of any other.

Here is the full list of candidates contesting the Lok Sabha election in 2019 from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha constituency:-

1	SANJAY MESHACK	Aam Aadmi Party
2	KULDEEP RAI SHARMA	Indian National Congress
3	K MUTHU	Indian National Congress
4	SUDHIR BISWAS	Indian National Congress
5	AYAN MANDAL	All India Trinamool Congress
6	MINATI BISWAS	Independent
7	K KALIMUTHU	Independent
8	C G SAJI KUMAR	All India Hindustan Congress Party
9	V V KHALID	Independent
10	PRAKASH MINJ	Bahujan Samaj Party
11	K VENKAT RAM BABU	Independent
12	VISHAL JOLLY	Bharatiya Janata Party
13	TARANGA KUMAR DHALI	Bharatiya Janata Party
14	HENRY	Independent
15	GOUR CHANDRA MAJUMDER	Independent
16	S SUDERSHAN RAO	Independent
17	Y SUNNY	Independent
18	PARITOSH KUMAR HALDAR	Independent
19	C U RASHEED	Independent

Till the 1967 Lok Sabha election, the candidate from this constituency was appointed directly by the country's President. The situation, however, changed after 1967 Lok Sabha election as the voters here were given the right to choose their MP.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, this single parliamentary seat was won by BJP's Bishnu Pada Ray. Ray trounced his nearest Congress rival Kuldeep Rai Sharma by nearly eight thousand votes. 

Ray had defeated Sharma in the 2009 Lok Sabha election too. However, the margin of victory was around 3,000 votes. 

The voter turnout figure at the time was 64.61 percent. The denial of ticket to Manoranjan Bhakta – an influential figure here- was blamed as the reason for Congress party's defeat in 2009. Bhakta was instrumental in Congress party's victory here many times but he eventually chose to join hands with Trinamool Congress.

Besides Congress, the CPI(M) is another major political player in this single Lok Sabha constituency. 

While most of the population here consists of migrants from the mainland, they have made Andaman and Nicobar Islands their one true home. Most of the population - over 60 percent - resides in rural areas and there is an increasing need to balance their needs and aspirations with the growing strategic significance of the union territory.