A fifth win, but a real opposition
What happened
Sikkim Democratic Front won a fifth term in a row, even as a brand-new rival cut deep into its support.
It took 22 of the 32 seats.
That left it 5 clear of a majority.
The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, contesting for the first time, won 10 seats on 40.8% of the vote.
The campaign
Prem Singh Tamang, a Sikkim Democratic Front minister, broke away to found the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha on 4 February 2013 at Soreng. He formally resigned from every Sikkim Democratic Front post on 6 September 2013, taking over as the new party's president ahead of a full challenge to Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling.12
The Election Commission of India announced the state's poll schedule on 5 March 2014, with polling set for 12 April 2014 and counting on 16 May 2014.3
Chamling, seeking a fifth consecutive term, filed nominations from two constituencies, Namchi-Singhithang and Rangang-Yangang, as the Sikkim Democratic Front faced its first full-scale contest from the new Sikkim Krantikari Morcha.4
The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha contested all 32 assembly seats, mounting the first comprehensive statewide challenge to Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front, which had held every seat since 2009.5
Tamang himself split his own two seats, losing Namthang-Rateypani to sitting SDF minister Tilu Gurung but winning Upper Burtuk to enter the new assembly as opposition leader.6
- 1Sikkim Krantikari Morcha Founded — Sikkim Krantikari Morcha
- 2Prem Singh Tamang Formally Quits SDF to Lead SKM — Prem Singh Tamang
- 3Election Commission Announces 2014 Sikkim Assembly Poll Schedule — 2014 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election
- 4Chief Minister Chamling Contests From Two Constituencies — 2014 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election
- 5SKM Fields Candidates in All 32 Sikkim Seats — 2014 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election
- 6SKM's Tamang Contests Two Seats, Splits Results — 2014 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election, Prem Singh Tamang
What changed
SDF's grip loosened even though it kept winning outright.
It won its 5th election in a row.
Even so, its seat count fell from 32 to 22.
10 of the 10 seats that changed hands swung directly from SDF to SKM.
It was the SKM's first real breakthrough at the polls.
Notable numbers
The tightest finish was at Upper Tadong, Sikkim, decided by 122 votes.
Djongu, Sikkim recorded the highest turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — of any seat in the state, 88.8%.
Chujachen, Sikkim was the state's largest constituency by registered voters, with 15,466 names on the rolls.
SKM president Tamang split his own two seats, losing Namthang-Rateypani to sitting SDF minister Tilu Gurung but winning Upper Burtuk with 5,272 votes, 50.73% of the poll, to enter the new assembly as opposition leader.6
- 6SKM's Tamang Contests Two Seats, Splits Results — 2014 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election, Prem Singh Tamang
The backdrop
Sikkim's monarchy ended and the kingdom joined India as a full state, its old State Council carried over as the new Legislative Assembly. That change was completed on 16 May 1975, when Sikkim became India's 22nd state after an April referendum.7
- 7Sikkim Becomes India's 22nd State — 1975 in Sikkim