New Delhi: It’s a clean sweep for the incumbent Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) led by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang in the assembly elections in the small and strategically important Himalayan state of Sikkim.
In a landslide win, SKM emerged victorious in 31 of the 32 assembly seats, leaving the Opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), led by former CM Pawan Kumar Chamling, with only one seat, according to Election Commission of India (ECI) data. Both parties contested all the 32 seats.
While Tamang, who contested from two seats — Soreng-Chakung and Rhenock — won from both, former CM Chamling faced a humiliating defeat in both the seats — Poklok-Kamrang and Namchabong — he contested from. The lone seat from where SDF won was Shyari. SDF’s Tenzing Norbu Lamtha won by 1,314 votes against SKM’s Kunga Nima Lepcha.
Tamang was with the SDF earlier and had been a minister multiple times in the Chamling-led government. Following differences with Chamling, he revolted against his leadership and formed the SKM in 2013. In its debut election in 2014, the SKM made a strong impression, winning 10 of the state’s 32 assembly seats.
Tamang’s wife, Krishna Kumari Rai, who contested from the Namchi-Singithang constituency, also won by over 5,000 votes against SDF’s Bimal Rai.
Meanwhile, prominent SDF candidate and former Indian football captain, Bhaichung Bhutia, lost from the Barfung seat. Bhutia had merged his Hamro Sikkim Party with SDF in November 2023.
Following the results, SKM spokesperson Yougen Tamang said that the election results reflect the public’s confidence in CM Prem Singh Tamang’s leadership.
“Despite challenges since 2019, the CM continued working for the welfare of the people of the state. SKM’s overwhelming victory is a testament to the work done by the party under the leadership of Tamang,” the SKM spokesperson told ThePrint.
The assembly elections saw a bipolar contest between two regional parties — the SKM and the SDF. With 31 seats under its belt, the SKM has massively improved its 2019 tally. Though it brought an end to the 25-year reign of Chamling’s SDF, it was a neck-to-neck contest with the SKM winning 17 seats against SDF’s 15.
Besides these two parties, the other three parties in the fray were the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the newly formed Citizen Action Party-Sikkim (CAP) — all of which drew a blank. While the BJP contested 31 seats, the Congress contested 18 and the CAP contested 30.
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BJP fails to open account
The BJP’s plan to make its political presence felt in the hill state came a cropper with the party failing to open its account. The BJP had an alliance with the SKM after 2019, but in the run-up to the 2024 elections, it decided to go solo and contested 31 of the total 32 seats.
In 2019, the BJP had got 1.62 percent vote share in the state. However, soon after the elections, Chamling’s SDF saw massive defections. Of the 15 SDF MLAs, 10 joined the BJP while two joined the ruling SKM — taking its tally in the 32-member assembly to 19.
The SDF was overnight reduced to a minority with just three MLAs in the 32-member assembly, while the BJP ended up becoming the second-largest party with 10 MLAs.
In the assembly bypolls that followed soon after for the three seats, CM Tamang, who contested from one seat, won, while the BJP won two seats in alliance with SKM — taking its tally to 12.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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