SKM records landslide victory in Sikkim polls; CM calls BJP ‘close partner’

Sikkim’s ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) secured a landslide victory in the assembly elections on Sunday, winning 31 of the Himalayan state’s 32 seats that went to polls on April 19 along with the sole Lok Sabha constituency.

At the end of counting, SKM, led by its president and chief minister Prem Singh Tamang Golay, swept 31 seats while the opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), headed by former chief minister Pawan Chamling, got one seat.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which shares a friendly relationship with SKM, drew a blank and so did the newly formed Citizen Action Party (CAP) although it drew crowds during campaign.

BJP state president D R Thapa lost from the Upper Burtuk seat while voters at Melli rejected Ganesh Kumar Rai, CAP’s chief ministerial candidate.

Chamling, who was Sikkim’s chief minister for 25 years from 1994 to 2019, a record in India, lost from Namcheybong and Poklok-Kamrang, the two constituencies he contested, by 3,063 and 2,256 votes respectively. Raju Basnet, a former bureaucrat, won the Namcheybong seat while the Poklok-Kamrang seat went to SKM’s Bhojraj Rai.

SDF’s Tenzing Norbu Lamtha emerged as the party’s sole winner. He won from Shyari in east Sikkim. Lamtha was an SKM leader but he switched sides after Kunga Nima Lepcha, a minister, was fielded from Shyari by the ruling party.

The chief minister, who also contested two seats, Soreng-Chekung and Rhenock, won both by more than 7,000 votes in each. His wife, Krishna Kumar Rai, secured the Namchi-Singhithang seat.

Talking to Hindustan Times, the chief minister said: “SKM’s landslide victory is a testimony of the people’s support for the government’s policies. We worked sincerely for the betterment of women, students and youths. Pawan Chamling suffered a humiliating defeat because of his ego. After SDF’s defeat in the 2019 polls he should have let young leaders take his party forward. Sikkimese people have rejected Chamling and his ideas once again.”

“I will take oath after the Lok Sabha election results are declared on June 4. SKM will remain a close partner of BJP and will work in close co-ordination with the Centre,” he said.

SDF spokesperson Arun Limboo said, “The results are really shocking. We have to do some introspection.”

Among Sunday’s prominent losers was Bhaichung Bhutia, former Indian football captain and SDF candidate from the Barfung constituency. He was defeated by SKM’s Rikshal Dorjee Bhutia by 4,346 votes.

This was Bhaichung’s fourth defeat in electoral politics. In the past, he unsuccessfully contested the Siliguri assembly seat and Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal for the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress. In 2018, Bhutia formed the Hamro Sikkim Party in his native state. In the 2019 assembly elections, he contested and lost. Before the 2024 polls, he merged his party with SDF and contested as an SDF candidate.

In the 2009 polls, when SDF was in power, it had won all 32 seats. However, SDF’s popularity started declining after Golay, who was then an SDF MLA and minister, revolted against the party and Chamling.

Golay, who is popular among youths, founded SKM in 2013. In 2014, SKM won 10 of the 32 seats, but seven of his MLAs joined the ruling SDF.

In the 2019 elections, SKM won 17 seats while SDF secured 15. After the polls, 10 SDF MLAs joined BJP, while two SDF MLAs joined SKM. Golay became chief minister with BJP supporting his government.