The election was held on 12 April 2014 for 7th assembly of

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

, the northeastern state of India. It elected 32 members of

Sikkim Legislative Assembly The Sikkim Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Sikkim States and territories of India, state in north-eastern India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Gangtok, the capital of the Sikkim state. History Sikkim be ...

Background

Pawan Chamling led SDF had already formed the previous four governments in Sikkim having first formed the government after the 1994 election, when they won 19 seats within a year of the party being formed, and then again after the 1999 election, when they increased their tally to 24 seats. Chamling's third term began on 21 May 2004 after increasing his tally to 31. In the 2009 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election, the SDF had a clean-sweep winning all 32 seats in the state assembly and Chamling sworn in as a Chief Minister fourth times on 20 May 2009. SDF is contesting for the fifth consecutive term.

Campaign and issues

The Buddhist minority demanded Karmapa to contest from Rumtek monastery. Nepali community in Sikkim demanded tribal status.

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (translation: ''Sikkim Revolutionary Front'') is a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim which was the ruling party of Sikkim in 2020. P.S. Golay, a former member of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, was one of ...

(SKM) was formed by Prem Singh Tamang in February 2013. Prem Singh Tamang alias P S Golay left Chamling's SDF in September 2014 and joined SKM. SKM contested from all 32 seats.

Schedule of election

Polling

There were eligible voters including female voters. 538 polling stations were set up by election commission which were guarded by 3500 policemen and 15 companies of the West Bengal Police. There are two seats reserved for

Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

(SC), 12 for

Bhutia-Lepcha Bhuta-Lepcha is an ethnic grouping consisting of people of the Bhutia and Lepcha communities in Sikkim, India. Both these groups are listed as Scheduled Tribes by the Government of India. After the implementation of the recommendations of the ...

(BL) communities out of 32 seats. One seat (

Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

) is reserved for 2900 monks of over 100 monasteries. SKM leader Golay contested from Namthang-Rateypani seat against incumbent SDF minister Tilu Gurung. SDF leader and incumbent chief minister Chamling contested from two places, Namchi-Singhithang and Rangang-Yangang.

Voter turnout

Total 80.97% of electorate including 80.57% males and 81.40% females cast their vote. Voter turnout at each constituency was as below:

Parties and candidates

Results

Votes were counted and results were declared on 16 May 2014. SDF lost 10 seats to SKM resulting in formation of opposition in the assembly which did not exist in previous assembly.

List of winners

The candidates elected to seventh legislative assembly are listed below:

Government formation

SDF led by Chamling secured majority by winning 22 out of 32 seats. SKM won the rest ten seats.

Pawan Kumar Chamling Pawan Kumar Chamling (born 22 September 1949) is an Indian politician and the former Chief Minister of Sikkim. Chamling is the Founding President of the Sikkim Democratic Front, which governed the state for five successive terms since 1994. Ch ...

was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Sikkim for the fifth time on 21 May 2014 by

Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil (born 11 February 1941) is an Indian politician and ex-officer of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). Since October 2019, he is the Member of Lok Sabha from the Satara constituency from Maharashtra, India. P ...

, the Governor of Sikkim. He became the chief minister fifth time, a record previously held by Jyoti Basu who ruled West Bengal from 1977 to 2000.

References

{{Sikkimese elections 2014 State Assembly elections in India April 2014 events in India State Assembly elections in Sikkim 2010s in Sikkim