Gangtok, May 16: Records came tumbling down when Pawan Chamling’s party managed to win the Assembly elections for the fifth straight term today.
Mr Chamling is set to become the first ever chief minister in India to serve for the fifth consecutive term.
Mr Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) trounced the Opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and bagged 22 of the 32 Assembly seats that were up for grabs in the state. The remaining seats went to the SKM’s kitty. The SDF was also set to bag the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state.
The SDF retained all the eight seats in the South and West Districts, while in the North District, it regained two seats in Lachen-Mangan and Dzongu constituencies. The SKM’s Ugen N Bhutia emerged victorious when he defeated sitting MLA TT Bhutia.
In the South, CM Chamling contested the polls from two constituencies of Yangyang Ranggang and Namchi Singithang, and he swept both the seats today with 3142 and 1084 votes respectively.
SKM failed to bag any seat in the South District as the ruling SDF retained all the eight seats there.
Mr Chamling won in his home constituency of Yangyang-Rangang against his closest rival, 26-year-old Bikash Basnet of the SKM, also the youngest candidate in the fray this time.
SKM leader PS Golay lost the polls in Namthang-Rateypani in South Sikkim when he was handed down a defeat by sitting MLA Tilu Gurung, who retained her seat with a margin of 1155 votes.
SDF also swept all the seats in the West District. It won the Maneybong- Dentam seat there with the highest margin of 5218 votes against Birbal Tamling of the SKM.
The SKM, however, managed to win big in East Sikkim, where it grabbed nine seats. A majority of the winners in the East District are debutant candidates with no previous political experience. The big winner there was Mr Golay, the SKM president, in Upper Burtuk, who was earlier the SDF MLA from the same constituency before he quit the party and formed the SKM. Golay retained his seat against SDF’s DR Thapa with a margin of 530 votes.
The highest margin SKM gained was of 1891 votes when Pintso Chopen won in the Gangtok constituency against Hissey Lachungpa.
SKM’s Sonam Lama won the Sangha seat, unique in the state for the electoral body of Buddhist monks, when he secured 1096 votes, against his rival SDF’s Palden Lachungpa who got 971 votes.
SKM president Mr Golay welcomed the mandate his party got in the assembly poll results today. In a press statement, he termed the verdict a “reflection of the democratic aspirations of the Sikkimese electorate.”
He also congratulated the winning candidates and the SDF party. The SKM president further appealed to his party workers to maintain calm and continue working as per the party policies.
“There is a change taking place in the Centre this time. There was also a desire for a change in Sikkim, especially among the Gangtokians. But people in the villages did not leave the SDF. We are coming to power again,” chief minister and SDF president Pawan Chamling said.
For the lone Lok Sabha seat, MP PD Rai of the SDF was set to retain the seat by defeating his nearest rival Tek Nath Dhakal of the SKM. Rai had been leading the count with a margin of 42633 votes until 10 pm.
Rai had bagged 159704 votes against Dhakal who had got 117071.
Nar Bahadur Khatiwada of the BJP had got 7188 votes, Akar Dhoj Limbu of the Congress 6967, Kaushal Rai of Aam Aadmi Party 2470 and Nakul Das Rai of the Trinamul Congress had managed 1908 so far.(SNS)
Mr Chamling is set to become the first ever chief minister in India to serve for the fifth consecutive term.
Mr Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) trounced the Opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and bagged 22 of the 32 Assembly seats that were up for grabs in the state. The remaining seats went to the SKM’s kitty. The SDF was also set to bag the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state.
The SDF retained all the eight seats in the South and West Districts, while in the North District, it regained two seats in Lachen-Mangan and Dzongu constituencies. The SKM’s Ugen N Bhutia emerged victorious when he defeated sitting MLA TT Bhutia.
In the South, CM Chamling contested the polls from two constituencies of Yangyang Ranggang and Namchi Singithang, and he swept both the seats today with 3142 and 1084 votes respectively.
SKM failed to bag any seat in the South District as the ruling SDF retained all the eight seats there.
Mr Chamling won in his home constituency of Yangyang-Rangang against his closest rival, 26-year-old Bikash Basnet of the SKM, also the youngest candidate in the fray this time.
SKM leader PS Golay lost the polls in Namthang-Rateypani in South Sikkim when he was handed down a defeat by sitting MLA Tilu Gurung, who retained her seat with a margin of 1155 votes.
SDF also swept all the seats in the West District. It won the Maneybong- Dentam seat there with the highest margin of 5218 votes against Birbal Tamling of the SKM.
The SKM, however, managed to win big in East Sikkim, where it grabbed nine seats. A majority of the winners in the East District are debutant candidates with no previous political experience. The big winner there was Mr Golay, the SKM president, in Upper Burtuk, who was earlier the SDF MLA from the same constituency before he quit the party and formed the SKM. Golay retained his seat against SDF’s DR Thapa with a margin of 530 votes.
The highest margin SKM gained was of 1891 votes when Pintso Chopen won in the Gangtok constituency against Hissey Lachungpa.
SKM’s Sonam Lama won the Sangha seat, unique in the state for the electoral body of Buddhist monks, when he secured 1096 votes, against his rival SDF’s Palden Lachungpa who got 971 votes.
SKM president Mr Golay welcomed the mandate his party got in the assembly poll results today. In a press statement, he termed the verdict a “reflection of the democratic aspirations of the Sikkimese electorate.”
He also congratulated the winning candidates and the SDF party. The SKM president further appealed to his party workers to maintain calm and continue working as per the party policies.
“There is a change taking place in the Centre this time. There was also a desire for a change in Sikkim, especially among the Gangtokians. But people in the villages did not leave the SDF. We are coming to power again,” chief minister and SDF president Pawan Chamling said.
For the lone Lok Sabha seat, MP PD Rai of the SDF was set to retain the seat by defeating his nearest rival Tek Nath Dhakal of the SKM. Rai had been leading the count with a margin of 42633 votes until 10 pm.
Rai had bagged 159704 votes against Dhakal who had got 117071.
Nar Bahadur Khatiwada of the BJP had got 7188 votes, Akar Dhoj Limbu of the Congress 6967, Kaushal Rai of Aam Aadmi Party 2470 and Nakul Das Rai of the Trinamul Congress had managed 1908 so far.(SNS)