Elections to Sikkim Assembly and Lok Sabha to be held on April 19, first of seven phases
Telegraph | 18 March 2024
Elections to the Sikkim Assembly and Lok Sabha will be held on April 19, the first of the seven phases of the 2024 general elections.
"The president of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and also the chief minister of Sikkim is fully prepared to form the next government through the election process,” said Jacob Khaling, political secretary to Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay).
Golay had managed to overthrow Pawan Kumar Chamling, president of the Sikkim De Democratic Front (SDF), in the 2019 Assembly election. Chamling had been the Sikkim chief minister from 1994 to 2019.
Many believe that the fight in Sikkim for the 32-seat Assembly and the lone Lok Sabha seat is likely to be a contest between the parties of Golay and Chamling.
Many, however, believe that the newly formed Citizen Action Party (CAP) could be the dark force in the upcoming election.
“CAP’s performance would impact the end result in some Assembly constituencies in Sikkim,” said a political observer.
Chamling on Saturday urged the people of Sikkim to come out and vote on April 19.
“If citizens fail to exercise the power of the vote responsibly, then the process of elections will not only be meaningless, placing the future of the state in the hands of the wrong government will bring further destruction and disorder,” said Chamling.
The BJP's D.T. Lepcha won the recent Rajya Sabha poll, largely possible because Golay’s SKM supported him.