Dek Bahadur Katwal of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has maintained his overall lead in the counting for Sikkim’s sole Lok Sabha seat. While the lead had extended to over 4,000 votes in the interim, Indra Hang Subba of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) has seen the margins tighten over the past hour. This has been majorly influenced by SKM’s lead in East Sikkim, although SDF still leads strongly in South Sikkim. The incumbent SDF looks set to hold on to its power, with opposition SKM trailing at all fronts. Bhaichung Bhutia-led Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP) is also behind on all counts, so far. The land-locked state saw voting for the solitary Lok Sabha seat happen on April 11, during the first phase of the 2019 elections. Interestingly, it took place on the same day as Sikkim’s Legislative Assembly elections, which comprise 32 seats.
ALSO SEE: Sikkim Lok Sabha elections 2019 LIVE results tracker
SDF has been the ruling party in Sikkim for 25 years, with Chief Minister and SDF’s founder-president Pawan Kumar Chamling holding the state’s ruling seat for an equal span of time. The Sikkim constituency in Lok Sabha has also been represented by SDF since 1996, with Member of Parliament Prem Das Rai representing Sikkim for two straight terms, since 2009. Apart from 1977 (the first year when Sikkim participated in the Lok Sabha elections) it has uniformly voted for a representative from a regional party. The only exception to this was in 1984, when independent candidate Nar Bahadur Bhandari defeated erstwhile MP and Sikkim Janata Parishad candidate Pahal Man Subba, to claim the Lok Sabha seat. Here are the latest developments from the state:
1. Dek Bahadur Katwal of SDF is holding his overall lead for the Lok Sabha seat, against Indra Hang Subba of SKM. He now leads his nearest rival by about 1,200 votes.
2. SDF founder-president Pawan Kumar Chamling and incumbent CM has won from his second constituency, Namchi-Singhithang, and is leading from his home constituency in Poklok-Kamrang.
3. Counts so far show SDF clearly leading SKM and HSP by significant margins on all fronts, showing the signs of yet another clear victory. The battle for Parliament, however, may be a tight one. As of now, in the Assembly Elections, SDF has won 1 and leads 11, while SKM leads 6 out of the 32 seats in total.
4. According to data released by the Sikkim election office, the electorate comprised 4,32,306 eligible voters during the polling on April 11. It ranked towards the higher end of voter turnout, recording 78.19 percent voter turnout.
5. A total of 11 nominees are contesting for the lone, unreserved Lok Sabha seat allotted to Sikkim, of which three are independent candidates. Since contesting for the first time in 1977, only one independent candidate has ever won the Sikkim Lok Sabha seat.
6. Prem Das Rai, the present Member of Parliament holding Sikkim’s Lok Sabha seat, did not contest for a third straight run in the Lok Sabha elections. Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), the prime opposition of SDF, has appointed Indra Hang Subba as their candidate for the Lok Sabha seat, who is now trailing.
7. Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP), the young political party founded by Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia, has fielded Biraj Adhikari as its candidate for the seat.
8. SKM is the principal opposition of the SDF in the state government, and made considerable impact by winning 10 out of 32 seats in the Legislative Assembly in the previous election. However, the SKM has never won a Lok Sabha seat yet, and the trend looks set to continue.
9. Historical records so far have shown Sikkim to clearly favour its regional parties over the national heavyweights, with the SDF gaining clear victory in the past 23 years.
10. SDF has held the Lok Sabha seat since 1996, and victory in this election would lead it to a run of 28 straight years at the Parliament.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)
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