Counting for all 32 Assembly seats in Sikkim was under way on Thursday. The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha was leading in 10 seats and had won in three. The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front was trailing, with leads in four seats and victories in five, the Election Commission’s website said.
Assembly elections were held concurrently with the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls on April 11.
The incumbent Pawan Kumar Chamling government had won 22 seats in the 2014 Assembly elections. Chamling is the leader of the Sikkim Democratic Front, which is part of the National Democratic Front. On Wednesday, Chamling met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other NDA leaders, the Sikkim Express reported.
Chamling is the longest-serving chief minister of any state since Independence. His party won the Assembly elections in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. In 2009, the Sikkim Democratic Front had won all 32 Assembly seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had attempted to make inroads into the state legislature. On March 14, it forged an alliance with the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. However, the alliance fell apart, reportedly due to disagreement over seat sharing.
Both the Sikkim Democratic Front and the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha are contesting all 32 Assembly seats.
The Congress and the Hamro Sikkim Party led by former footballer Bhaichung Bhutia are the two other parties in the fray for the Assembly polls. However, neither party is leading in any seats.
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