The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its lineup of 14 candidates who will vie for the 32 seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly. Additionally, the party has disclosed its nominee for the solitary Lok Sabha constituency in Sikkim.
Dinesh Chandra Nepal, a former bureaucrat in the Sikkim Government, has been nominated as the BJP’s candidate for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state.
Among the 14 candidates for the upcoming 2024 assembly elections, the BJP has retained two incumbent legislators.
Sikkim BJP President DR Thapa, who currently represents the Upper Burtuk constituency, has secured the ticket from his constituency after defecting from the Sikkim Democratic Front party. Similarly, MLA Narendra Kumar Subba, who joined the BJP in 2019 alongside Thapa, will contest from the Maneybong Dentam constituency, which he currently represents.
The declaration of candidates follows the dissolution of the alliance between the BJP and the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha party on March 23. This decision was made by Sikkim BJP President DR Thapa following consultations with party leadership in New Delhi. Subsequently, four sitting legislators resigned from the BJP.
Sonam Tshering Venchungpa, Raj Kumari Thapa (Yangang-Rangang), Tashi Thendup Bhutia (Barfung), and Pintso Namgyal Lepcha (Dzongu), who defected from the Sikkim Democratic Front party, also tendered their resignations from the BJP.
Among the notable candidates announced, former legislator Tseten Tashi Bhutia has been nominated for the Sangha seat, a non-territorial constituency for religious propagation in the state. Bhutia has been a staunch advocate for preserving Sikkim’s old laws under Article 371F of the Indian Constitution and has played a pivotal role in fostering unity among the Bhutia Lepcha communities in the state as the convener of the Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC).
Other BJP candidates include Kinjong Sherap Bhutia, Sanchaman Limboo, Sancho Lepcha, Phurba Dorjee Sherpa, Purna Singh Subba, Pahalman Kami, Tashi Dadul Bhutia, Arjun Rai, Sangey Gyatso Bhutia, Udai Gurung, and Ugen Nedup Bhutia, contesting from various constituencies across Sikkim.
The Lok Sabha election in Sikkim is slated to occur in a single phase on April 19, 2024, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prem Das Rai of the Sikkim Democratic Front emerged victorious, while in 2019, Indra Hang Subba of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha secured the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim.
