The highly expected alliance between the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha-(SKM and the Bharatiya Janata Party-BJP for the forthcoming Sikkim Assembly elections has been officially called off. This development was confirmed by BJP state spokesperson Passang Sherpa.
State BJP president DR Thapa announced that the party has opted to contest the Assembly elections independently, without entering into any alliance.
The Sikkim BJP delegation is scheduled to return to the State on March 23. They intend to nominate candidates for all seats in the State Assembly as well as the single Lok Sabha constituency in Sikkim.
Furthermore, Sikkim BJP leader DR Thapa disclosed that they will name some of their party’s candidates on the night of Saturday, with the remaining names set to be announced on March 24.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India or ECI has revised the dates for the counting of votes in Sikkim.
Originally scheduled for June 4, the counting of votes in the State has been rescheduled to June 2.
According to a notification, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will conduct elections for the Legislative Assemblies of Sikkim before the current terms expire.
The notification also States that this decision is based on the authority granted under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution and Section 15 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The terms of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly are set to expire on June 2, 2024.
Additionally, voting in Sikkim will take place in the first phase on April 19.
Candidates are required to file their nomination papers by March 27, with the scrutiny of nominations scheduled for March 28. The deadline for the withdrawal of candidature is set for March 30.
During a press conference to announce the dates of Lok Sabha elections and Assembly polls for four States, Rajiv Kumar mentioned that there will be 10.5 lakh polling stations, and 1.5 crore polling officials and security staff will be deployed to conduct the elections in the world’s largest democracy.
