Five-time former Chief Minister of Sikkim and Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) supremo Pawan Kumar Chamling lost from both the Poklok Kamrang and Namcheybung Assembly constituencies he had contested, officials said.
Mr. Chamling, an eight-time MLA, lost to Sikkim Krantikari Morcha’s (SKM) Bhoj Raj Rai by 3,063 votes in the Poklok Kamrang seat in his native Namchi district.
Mr. Chamling was the Chief Minister of Sikkim for 25 years from 1994 to 2019. This will be the first time in 39 years that Mr. Chamling will not step inside the Sikkim Legislative Assembly as a legislator.
The SDF contested in all 32 Assembly seats in the Himalayan State but managed to win only one seat.
In the Poklok Kamrang Assembly seat, Mr. Rai polled 8,037 votes while Mr. Chamling secured 4,974 votes. Arjun Rai (BJP) and Sanju Rai (Citizen Action Party-Sikkim or CAP-S) secured 739 and 691 votes, respectively.
The five-time former CM lost to the SKM’s Raju Basnet by 2,256 votes from the Namcheybung Assembly constituency. Mr. Basnet bagged 7,195 votes while Mr. Chamling secured 4,939 votes. Severine Rai of the CAP-S received 814 votes, while the BJP’s Pooja Sharma got 374 votes.
The SKM returned to power in Sikkim by winning 31 of the 32 Assembly seats. Polling for the Assembly election in Sikkim was held along with the Lok Sabha election on April 19.
