SKM Wins Sikkim Bypolls Unopposed As SDF Candidates Withdraw Nominations
First Published: 29th October, 2024 21:09 IST
With this win, SKM has full majority in the 32-member Sikkim Assembly winning all the 32 seats.
The ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) has won the Sikkim bypolls unopposed. Aditya Golay Tamang, son of Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang won the Soreng-Chakung seat unopposed after SDF’s Bhandari withdrew his candidature and Satish Chandra Rai won the Namchi-Shinghithang seat after SDF’s Daniel Rai pulled out of the bypoll race today. With this win, SKM has full majority in the 32-member Sikkim Assembly winning all the 32 seats.
This will Aditya’s second term as Soreng-Chakung MLA. He had won the seat by over 6,000 votes in the 2019 Assembly elections. He did not contest the 2024 elections has his father, CM Tamang contested from the Soreng-Chakung seat. CM Tamang contested from the Rhenock seat too and won both the seats but decided to vacate the Soreng-Chakung seat making bypolls to the seat necessary.
The circumstances leading to the victory of SKM in the bypolls have prompted questions like have Opposition parties in Sikkim surrendered to SKM? Is Sikkim becoming an Opposition mukt (free) state?
Yesterday, Citizen Action Party’s candidates – Mahesh Rai for the Namchi-Shinghithang seat and Pobin Hang Subba for the Soreng-Chakung seat were disqualified by the Election Commission as the signatures of their proposers did not match with those in the Pan Cards and other documents shared for verification. In fact, three proposers – Ganesh Kumar Rai, Pratik Rai, and Phip Raj Subba filed FIR against Subba accusing him of using their names and forging their signatures on his nomination papers without their consent.
The disqualification of the CAP candidates and the withdrawal of SDF candidates left the SKM candidates only in the fray thus paving the way for them to win uncontested.
Infact, SKM Minister N B Dahal told Northeast Live yesterday that both the SDF candidates would withdraw their nominations today, a day ahead of the last day to withdraw nominations. He went on to say that SDF would soon merge with SKM.
If the developments in the state in the last 48 hours is any indication, Sikkim’s political landscape appear to be headed for a big tectonic shift.
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