Congress wrests Lakshadweep

Congress' debutant candidate, PM Hamdulla wrested the lone Lakshadweep parliamentary constituency from sitting MP Dr Pookunji Koya of the NCP by a margin of 2,198 votes.

27-year-old Hamdulla, who is the son of former Union minister, late PM Sayeed, polled 20,492 votes while Dr Koya got 18,294 votes. Hamdulla maintained lead throughout the five rounds of counting.

Lakshadweep constituency was a Congress bastion which Hamdulla's father represented from 1967-2004. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Dr Koya defeated Sayeed by 71 votes.