Sikkim waits to see if Chamling sets record

Tamanna Tamang, SNS, Gangtok, 15 May :Vote counting officials will tomorrow unlock the mandate given by 81.22 percent of the 3.69 lakh electorate in Sikkim, which is currently stored in the electronic voting machines (EVM). After a month-long wait, people will finally see if the state gets a new chief minister or a “renewed” one in Pawan Chamling, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) president, who has ruled Sikkim for 20 years now. If Mr Chamling emerges victorious for the fifth consecutive time, he will become the longest serving chief minister not only in Sikkim but in the whole of India, while he will break the record now held by former West Bengal CM Jyoti Basu.

Observers are also waiting to see if PS Golay, the Opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha chief, riding high on the “parivartan (change) wave” he brought about, has succeeded in convincing the Sikkim voters this time around.

“A similar wave had swept the state in the 2009 elections when some people and former CM Nar Bahadur Bhandari had hoped to end Chamling’s run, only to find themselves in an uncomfortable position after the results were out then,” a 26-year-old man in Gangtok said.

“Everyone I met then claimed that they voted for the Congress, but the SDF got all the 32 seats in its kitty,” he added.

“The wave of change that we saw this election was strong and has sowed seeds of hope for something new, especially for government employees like us,” said a home guard.

“If Golay wins, it is well and good, but if he loses some of us will surely be ready for some transfers here and there,” he added. Exit poll results being shown on news channels and published in newspapers predict an SDF victory again.

“But are the exit polls accurate? I doubt. Twenty years is enough for the SDF and we have voted for a change now,” another government employee said, requesting anonymity.

While some people want the SDF at the helm, they also want the SKM to play the role of a strong opposition.

“The SKM may not form the government, but they will definitely be a strong opposition, which is the need of the hour,” a 32-year-old doctor said here.

A total of 124 contestants of the SDF, SKM, BJP, Congress, and Trinamul Congress are in the fray for the 32 Assembly seats that are up for grabs in the state.

However, the fight remains clearly between the SDF, an experienced player, and the SKM, a newbie under Golay, the former SDF MLA and minister.

Besides the Assembly election, Sikkim also voted for the lone MP seat, for which six candidates representing the SDF, SKM, Trinamul, Congress, BJP and AAP are in the fray.