Sikkim's poll card: Pawan Chamling seeks 6th term

The opposition may be claiming that public sentiment is against Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling, who has been ruling the state since 1994, but Chamling says the state is witnessing its “golden era” and compares his government with Chandragupta Maurya’s rule. The state’s longest serving CM is seeking a record sixth term for his party in the forthcoming assembly election.

Poll Positions
The Congress has announced candidates for all 32 constituencies in Sikkim, where polling will be held for both Lok Sabha polls and assembly election on April 11. The BJP has so far announced names of 12 candidates for the state polls.

Footballer-turned-politician Baichung Bhutia, who leads the Hamaro Sikkim Party (HSP), is faced with desertion of several party members in the run-up to the polls. Bhutia plans to auction his memorabilia to raise funds for the election.

The BJP had announced that it had an alliance with the opposition party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM). However, SKM declared that it will contest all seats on its own and that there will be no seat-sharing with the BJP.

Poll Issues
HSP has made organic cultivation an election issue, accusing the government of falsely claiming that the state has turned fully organic in terms of cultivation.

SKM is demanding restoration of Nepali seats in the state assembly, reservation of seats for the Limbu and Tamang communities in the assembly, granting of Scheduled Tribe status to 11 Nepali-speaking communities, income tax exemption to all local people and social, economic and political justice to every section of the state population under Article 371F of the Constitution.