Gangtok, June 2 (UNI): Steamrolling all opposition, the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) had a landslide win with victories in all but one constituency in the 32-strong Sikkim Assembly.
An earlier report said Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang-led SKM won 15 seats – two short of the majority mark – and was ahead in 16 other constituencies.
The main opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), which ruled the tiny Himalayan state for 25 years under the chief ministership of Pawan Kumar Chamling till it was dethroned by the SKM in 2019, was ahead in only one seat.
CM and SKM supremo Prem Singh Tamang has won from Rhenock by over 7,000 votes against his SDF rival Som Nath Poudyal, In Soreng-Chakung, the second seat he is contesting, Tamang has taken a huge lead over his nearest SDF opponent A D Subba.
On the other hand, the SDF got a big jolt as its chief Pawan Kumar Chamling lost from both Poklok-Kamrang and Namcheybung, the two seats he had contested. Chamling, who still holds the record for the longest chief ministerial tenure in independent India, went down to his SKM rivals in the two constituencies. The giant killers were Bhoj Raj Rai (Poklok-Kamrang) and Raju Basnet (Namcheybung).
Another SDF star candidate Bhaichung Bhutia was also running second to SKM nominee Rikshal Dorjee Bhutia from Barfung (BL-Reserved) seat. Bhutia, a former Indian soccer skipper, had merged his Humro Sikkim Party with Chamling’s SDF last November.
