As results of Assembly elections in two northeastern States announced on Sunday, both the BJP and the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) retained their hold over Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, respectively. With 55 per cent vote share and 46 seats, the BJP won the 60 members Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly polls and is set to come back for a third consecutive term. In Sikkim, the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha won 31 seats in the 32 members Sikkim Legislative Assembly polls, comfortably surpassing the majority mark over the Sikkim Democratic Front. SDF which ruled the State for 25 years in a row till 2019, bagged just one seat. Former India football captain and SDF candidate Bhaichung Bhutia lost the Barfung seat by a margin of 4,346 votes, his sixth defeats in the last 10 years since 2014, he had joined TMC to contest from Darjeeling.
In Arunachal Pradesh, only 50 of the 60 Assembly seats went to polls, as 10 BJP MLAs, including outgoing Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy CM Chowna Mein, secured victory unopposed. The BJP vote share also increased to 55 per cent as compared to 50.86 per cent in 2019.Taking to X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Thank you Arunachal Pradesh!
The people of this wonderful state have given an unequivocal mandate to politics of development. My gratitude to them for reposing their faith in @BJP4Arunachal yet again. Our Party will keep working with even greater vigour for the State's growth."The PM also said, "I would like to appreciate the hardwork of the exceptional @BJP4Arunachal Karyakartas through the election campaign. It is commendable how they went across the state and connected with the people."The National People's Party (NPP) bagged five seats, while the People's Party of Arunachal won two seats and the NCP secured three. The Congress won one seat, and independent candidates emerged victorious in three constituencies.
In the first declared result of the day, independent candidate Wanglam Sawin triumphed over the BJP's Kamrang Tesia in the Khonsa (East) constituency. Responding to the verdict, incumbent Chief Minister Pema Khandu said, "This is a mandate for 10 years of development with huge support from the centre. You all know Arunachal Pradesh is the land of rising sun. BJP's victory here shows (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji will become PM for the third term."Khandu was also regarded as a strategist who, through political manoeuvring, brought the BJP to power for the first time in the northeastern state bordering China.
Khandu's political odyssey began amid a personal tragedy. The untimely demise of his father, former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, in a helicopter crash in 2011, thrust him under the spotlight. In the run-up to the Assembly polls held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, he campaigned on a plank of corruption-free governance, emphasizing transparency and people-centric policies.
In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 41 seats in Arunachal Pradesh. The Janata Dal (United) bagged seven, the National People's Party (NPP) five, Congress four, and the Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) one. Two independents also won in the Assembly polls. All except one Congress MLA, former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, joined the BJP.
Arunachal Pradesh recorded 82.95 per cent of voting in the Assembly Election 2024 while the turnout for the two Lok Sabha seats in the State was recorded at 77.51 per cent. It was 82.17 per cent in the Assembly Election 2019.
In Sikkim, SKM has secured 58.38 per cent vote share while its rival SDF got only 27.37 per cent. The BJP contested in 31 Assembly seats but failed to win a single one in Sikkim where it had 12 members in the outgoing House. The BJP could secure only 5.18 per cent of the votes in the Himalayan state. The SKM got 58.38 per cent votes while the Sikkim Democratic Front bagged 27.37 per cent votes. Sikkim BJP president Dilli Ram Thapa lost to SKM nominee Kala Rai in the Upper Burtuk Assembly constituency. Thapa, a sitting MLA and a former Minister lost to Rai by 2,968 votes. The BJP decided to go alone in the Sikkim Assembly polls after severing its alliance with the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) led by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang after the seat-sharing talks broke down on the latter's reluctance to meet the BJP's demand for a respectable number of seats.
Tamang has emerged victorious in the Rhenock constituency, securing a decisive win over his SDF rival Som Nath Poudyal by a margin of 7,044 votes. In the Soreng Chakung Assembly constituency, Tamang holds a lead of 2,052 votes over his nearest SDF competitor, A.D Subba.
Prime Minister Modi hailed Tamang and the SKM for the victory."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," Modi said in a post on X. Responding to the Prime Minister's post, Tamang thanked him.
"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," Tamang said in an X.
Sikkim Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Sunday dissolved the 10th Sikkim Legislative Assembly (SLA) with immediate effect to clear the decks for the constitution of the 11th SLA following the declaration of results.
Former Sikkim Chief Minister and SDF supremo Pawan Kumar Chamling was defeated by SKM nominee Bhoj Raj Rai in the Poklok Assembly seat by a margin of 3,063 votes.
Rai polled 8,037 votes while Chamling got 4,974 votes. Arjun Rai (BJP) and Sanju Rai (CAP-S) got 739 and 691 votes respectively in the Poklok Kamrang Assembly seat. The five-time former CM lost to SKM's Raju Basnet by 2,256 votes from the Namcheybung Assembly constituency. Basnet bagged 7,195 votes while Chamling got 4,939.
After winning Assembly Polls in Sikkim, CM Designate Prem Singh Tamang said, "(SDF leader) Pawan Kumar Chamling lost completely in 2019 only but it's a democracy. The work they couldn't do in 25 years, we did it in five years. People have voted on that basis."
Bhaichung Bhutia, the former captain of the Indian football team, is once again faced defeat in electoral politics by a margin of over 4000 votes. He previously contested elections twice in West Bengal as a Trinamool Congress candidate: the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Darjeeling and the 2016 Assembly elections from Siliguri, losing both. He then moved his electoral base to Sikkim, forming his own party and contesting the 2019 Assembly elections from Gangtok and Tumen-Lingi, only to face defeat in both attempts. He also lost the 2019 bypoll from Gangtok.
The counting day for Assembly polls in Arunachal and Sikkim was moved up from June 4 to Sunday because the current assembly terms end on June 2, and a new House must be formed by then. The Assembly polls in these States were conducted simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in their initial and most extensive phase on April 19.
