New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced a simultaneous Assembly election in Sikkim along with the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The lone Lok Sabha seats in Sikkim will go to polls in the first phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls on April 19.
Meanwhile, the 32 Assembly constituencies of Sikkim will vote in a single phase on April 19.
2019 Lok Sabha election and Sikkim
Sikkim, with its solitary Lok Sabha seat and 32 Assembly seats, saw concurrent assembly elections alongside the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Indra Hang Subba of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) emerged victorious in the Sikkim Lok Sabha constituency with 166,922 votes, defeating Dek Bahadur Katwal of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), who garnered 154,489 votes, resulting in a margin of 12,433 votes. Conversely, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prem Das Rai of the SDF secured victory with a margin of 41,742 votes over SKM candidate Tek Nath Dhakal.
In the same year’s Assembly elections, the Sikkim Democratic Front emerged victorious in 22 seats, while the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha won 10 seats.
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The state, with a population exceeding 6,10,000, stands as the country’s least populated state, boasting a predominantly rural demography with an approximate literacy rate of 82.2%. In 2014, the electorate comprised 370,770 voters, comprising 191,017 males and 179,753 females, with no voters from the third gender. Scheduled Castes constituted 4.63% of the population, while Scheduled Tribes accounted for 33.8%.
Reports suggest that the Lok Sabha Elections are likely to be conducted in seven phases, with the Election Commission expected to announce dates for assembly elections in Odisha, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. With the term of the current Lok Sabha ending on June 16, a new House must be constituted beforehand.
The BJP’s impressive performance in the 2019 elections, securing 37.36 percent of the votes nationwide and securing 303 seats, further contributed to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) clinching a total of 353 seats. Conversely, the Indian National Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, secured 52 seats, with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) garnering a total of 98 seats.
Efforts are underway to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections across India, with several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, preparing for concurrent Lok Sabha and assembly polls. The terms of the Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim Assemblies are set to expire on June 11, June 2, June 24, and June 2, respectively.
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