GUWAHATI: The BJP’s win at a canter in Arunachal Pradesh was a forgone conclusion but nobody, perhaps, thought Sikkim’s ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) will win in such a way, hands down.
The wave in SKM’s favour was such that even the state’s longest serving Chief Minister (1994-2019) Pawan Kumar Chamling had to bite the dust.
SKM won 31 of Sikkim’s 32 seats. The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), which is the state’s principal opposition party, won the only other seat.
Interestingly, the winner here, Tenzing Norbu, was with the SKM earlier. He had joined the SDF after being denied a ticket by the ruling party.
The BJP, Congress and newly-floated Citizen Action Party drew a blank. In 2019, the SKM had won 17 seats as against the SDF’s 15. The SKM is a BJP ally and constituent of the National Democratic Alliance but the two parties had separately contested the polls.
Observers say the SKM’s various welfare schemes including ‘Sikkim Aama Yojana’, ‘Bahini’ and ‘Vatsalaya’ and the slogan ‘Garib Ka Sarkar’ played the trick for party.
Under Sikkim Aama Yojana which was introduced last year, a financial grant of Rs 20,000 is provided to eligible non-working, unwed, widowed, divorced or separated mothers within the age group of 18-59 years.
Bahini aims at providing 100 per cent access to free and safe sanitary pads to secondary and senior secondary school-going girls while Vatsalaya provides financial assistance upto Rs 3 lakh to Sikkimese couples without children, specifically catering to In Vitro Fertilization treatments.
“SKM’s slogan was it is ‘Garib Ka Sarkar’. In the last five years, they did wonderful things for all classes. They had various welfare schemes for all sections, including students and elderly women,” an observer told this newspaper requesting anonymity.
He said the Tamang government did not discriminate against people on party or religious lines and benefits of government schemes were provided to all deserving beneficiaries.
“Congratulations to SKM and CM @PSTamangGolay for their victory in the Sikkim Assembly Elections 2024. I look forward to working with the State Government to further the progress of Sikkim in the coming times,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X.
Tamang responded by thanking the PM for his support.
“We are committed to continuing our efforts towards the development and prosperity of Sikkim. We look forward to collaborating with you to achieve our shared goals for the betterment of our state. Your unwavering support has been a driving force for us, and we look forward to your continued guidance and blessings,” he wrote on X.
He expressed gratitude to the voters for reposing their faith in the SKM.
“The victory is a testament to your belief in the SKM. We will give our best in the next five years,” he told a crowd at Gangtok’s Paljor Stadium.
Ahead of the polls, former ace footballer Bhaichung Bhutia had merged his Hamro Sikkim Party with the SDF. Some SKM leaders had also deserted the party and joined the SDF. These developments gave rise to a perception that the SKM will face a stiff challenge in the polls. The results belied that perception.
The SDF had promised to field young guns but ended up going for mostly veteran candidates. Also, people were not excited about the party as they have already tried and tested it.
The voters also rejected BJP, Congress and newly-floated Citizen Action Party.
“The Congress is virtually lost in Sikkim in the last 10-15 years. As for the BJP, its supporters are mostly non-indigenous business people. Given the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, people feared if the BJP is voted to power, it will take away Article 371F from Sikkim,” the observer said.
Article 371F grants special provisions regarding ownership and transfer of land and its resources in Sikkim.
The SKM was floated in 2013 to stop the SDF’s run in power. It contested the Assembly elections in 2014 and won 10 seats to emerge as the second largest party after the SDF. In the 2019 polls, the SKM won 17 seats and ended Chamling’s more than 24-year rule.
There has been a trend in Sikkim that people give a party at least two terms in power. The trend started with Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s Sikkim Sangram Parishad in 1985.
It continued with the SDF and now with the SKM.The SDF always tried to corner the SKM government with charges of corruption but the accusations boomeranged on the opposition party in the wake of last year’s major glacial lake outburst in the state. The SKM managed to convince the voters that substandard work in the hydropower project carried out by the previous SDF government had caused the disaster.
The BJP on Sunday retained power in Arunachal Pradesh by winning 46 of the state’s 60 seats. The BJP was people’s natural choice in the absence of a formidable opposition party. Another aspect is that the people in the state have always voted for the party which is in power at the Centre.
The Congress is the state’s principal opposition party but it got so weakened that only 19 of the 34 candidates, whose names were announced, had contested.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma-headed National People’s Party (NPP), which fared well, is a BJP ally. Most of its candidates were with the BJP. They joined the NPP ahead of the polls after the BJP had denied tickets to them. NPP bagged five seats to emerge as the second largest party.
The Nationalist Congress Party won three seats, People’s Party of Arunachal two, Congress one while one seat went to an independent candidate.
Earlier, ten BJP candidates, including Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein, had won unopposed. The other prominent winners include ministers Mama Natung, Kamlung Mossang, former Union minister Ninong Ering (all from BJP), Kumar Waii (Congress) and Thangwang Wangham (NPP). Ering, who had won the last election on Congress’ ticket, joined the BJP a few months ago.
Former Chief Minister Gegong Apang (Arunachal Democratic Front), former minister Taba Tedir, MLAs Nyamar Karbak, Lombo Tayeng, Kaling Moyong, Kumsi Sidisow (all from BJP) were among the prominent losers.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the BJP workers, stating that they had worked hard as they visited places across the state and connected with the people.
In his response, Chief Minister Pema Khandu wrote, “Thank you Honourable Prime Minister Sir. Your guidance and vision have played a monumental role in our success. We shall continue with greater vigour to work for Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas.”
Talking to the media later, he expressed gratitude to the people for their support to the BJP.“It is a historic day for the people of the state and the BJP. We had won 41 seats in 2019 and 46 this time around. In politics, there will be anti-incumbency but when the BJP is in power, there will be pro-incumbency,” Khandu said.
He also stated that the victory was a reflection of Modi’s development initiatives in Arunachal.Talking about the formation of the government, he said, “All winning candidates will reach Itanagar on June 4 and the party leaders will also come from New Delhi. Once the formalities are over, we will stake a claim to form the next government.”
To a query, he said the BJP’s victory in the state’s two Lok Sabha seats was a 100 per cent certain.
