SKM jubilant with 10/32 verdict

GANGTOK, 17 May: Making its debut with 10 seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha was all jubilant today. The party headquarters at Tadong, Gangtok was brimming with party supporters all gathered to felicitate their party leader, PS Tamang [Golay] and the 9 others who won from their respective constituencies. The supporters celebrated their party’s performance with bursting of crackers and offering khadas to the winners. 

The blank draw in South and West districts is being blamed away on the money power of the ruling front and some officials and agents who, SKM supporters allege, had sided with the ruling party. SKM, it may be recalled, could not win any seat in either the West or South districts and won only one in North Sikkim. Apart from this one [Kabi Lungchuk] and the Sangha seat, the remaining eight came from East District’s kitty of 12 seats.

“We are satisfied with our tally of 10 seats; maybe we could have won a couple of more seats but this is also good,” said a party supporter in the SKM party headquarters today, stating that 10 MLAs were enough to counter the ruling front. There was also a sense of relief that the party had presented a respectable performance.

As for the general public most people welcomed the development that Sikkim, at last, had an official opposition representation in the Assembly. There was also curious amazement and wonderment at how the rest of Sikkim voted since a cluster of six constituencies in and around Gangtok make up 60% of SKM’s victories.