Congratulations

Editorial:-

Election 2014 is done and dusted and Pawan Chamling has led Sikkim Democratic Front to a record fifth term in office in Sikkim. This is no mean achievement since Mr. Chamling battled a strong anti-establishment wave which had gripped the entire country and was palpable in Sikkim as well. Hamstrung by an uninspiring next rung of leaders and a fourth term in office which was arguably among the most unexceptional five years of SDF in government in Sikkim, the fact that he managed to keep his traditional stronghold in the districts intact is an impressive feat. It is obvious that the country as a whole has been in a very foul mood for a few years now and has expressed it in such displays as the India Against Corruption movement, the humbling of traditional political parties in the NCT of Delhi and now in the viciousness with which Congress and its UPA has been decimated across the country. Sikkim was clearly not untouched by this mood [not Modi] of the country and this was clear in the wave that Gangtok pushed in support of the SKM. Who knows, if SKM had not remained so consistently indecisive and routinely delayed, it might have made deeper inroads into the SDF bastion. But that was not to be, and it would also be unfair to credit the SDF victory too much to SKM dithering. It is clear that Chamling enjoys the trust of a majority of the Sikkimese and although the party and his own vote-share has seen a dip, it remains clear that many more Sikkimese would have him at the helm of affairs in the State than those who do not endorse his stewardship. Sample this, SDF received 55% of all the votes polled this time while SKM received 40%. Compare this to the 38% voteshare that has brought Modi to power in India [despite the fact that 62% of the voters don’t want BJP in power in India]. To have managed such clear electoral victory for a fifth time through a campaign which was more contesting, brutal and violent than Sikkim has seen at least in the past 15 years is why the congratulations are even more special for Mr. Chamling and his party this time.

Congratulations are also due to the SKM on its impressive debut, as are thanks for having returned the prospect of Opposition representation to the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim. It is important that the party move past the negativity of its poll campaign and engage the policy making process and its mandated role in the Assembly and Sikkim politics with consistent responsibility. Voters in Sikkim have returned Opposition MLAs to the Assembly in the past, but have always been let down by the elected Opposition members who dodged attending the sessions and skipped attending to their constituencies. The present set of 10 SKM MLAs should deliver better and the task should not be too difficult for them given that all of them are East Sikkim based and that too from the cluster adjoining the capital. The party is fortunate that its president won from one of his chosen constituencies and should use his experience to groom Assembly debutantes well on their role in representative democracy. From hereon forward, the focus should be on engagement and not confrontation for the party. It cannot ignore the fact that it was probably blanked out from the districts for the aggression and violence that it had become identified with; a trait which could also have convinced Gangtok that a wave of support had built up for SKM. The party then has to work hard to merit the people’s decision to make them the Opposition and also fashion a new introduction for itself to win wider acceptance.

Returning to the victors; one cannot help but suspect that the SDF has not realized how significant its achievement has been. Save CPM’s Jyoti Basu in West Bengal, no Chief Minister has returned to office five times consecutively. Nearly 70,000 of the voters in this time’s election in Sikkim were born when SDF was already in power here. The party’s back to back 31/32 and 32/32 poll performance had clearly made the party and its leaders and cadre complacent which is why it was so rattled by the SKM challenge this time. 32/32 is also not a feat that can [or should] be repeated too often and the downside is that after this peak, every shift is a loss. 22/32 and a 55% voteshare is a significant achievement and deserves wider celebration than the party is allowing itself. This is a chance for the SDF to get back into shape. It should remember that arguably its best term in office was the 1999-2004 term when Bhandari was still a force to reckon with and a pressure which gave Sikkim its most proactive and ambitious governments. SDF had won the 1999 elections with 53% of the votes and 24 seats. It is an almost similar performance this time. The party had delivered a governance so effective that time that it improved its voteshare to 71% in the next elections in 2004. Election 2014 has served Mr. Chamling and his party the same nudge. The coming days will reveal what comes of this situation. In the meanwhile, congratulations once again…