Dorjee Lepcha is BJP’s pick for Rajya Sabha seat from Sikkim, where it rose from zero

 Dorjee Lepcha is the MLA from Gnathang Machong. BJP says 'this is the first time a representation of a national party member from Sikkim will be made in the Rajya Sabha'.

File photo of Dorjee Tshering Lepcha | X @airnewsalerts

NEELAM PANDEY, The Print, 07 January, 2024, New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday declared Dorjee Tshering Lepcha as the party’s Rajya Sabha candidate from Sikkim, where it emerged as the main opposition party despite not winning a single seat in the 2019 assembly polls, on account of a section of MLAs from the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) joining the BJP.

Speaking to ThePrint, Dilip Jaiswal, the BJP’s Sikkim in charge, said the party has an alliance with the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and the need for an election will not arise. “The BJP has 12 MLAs and SKM has 19, so we don’t think there will be a need for an election,” he said. 

BJP and SKM have been allies since 2019. Though an alliance was announced before the 2019 assembly polls, SKM later backed out of it. With the induction of SDF MLAs, the BJP managed to make its presence felt in the state. 

“We want to thank our alliance partner and especially the chief minister. This is the first time a representation of a national party member from Sikkim will be made in the Rajya Sabha. This is a better sign for the future and development of the state,” Jaiswal added.

Lepcha was elected to the Sikkim Legislative Assembly in 2014 and again in 2019 from the Gnathang Machong constituency. 

His nomination is a significant development since Sikkim elects only one member to the Rajya Sabha through indirect voting by state legislators. The term of the current Rajya Sabha member from Sikkim, Hishey Lachungpa of the SDF, will end in February. 

The tenure of 68 Rajya Sabha members, including nine Union ministers, is set to end later this year. Elections have also been called for the single Rajya Sabha seat in Sikkim.

Sikkim’s 32-member assembly currently has 12 BJP MLAs, most of whom defected from the SDF, which had been in power from 1994 to 2019. The defection happened months after the 2019 state elections, where the BJP registered a score of zero.

The BJP gradually gained a foothold in the state, starting with the defection of 10 MLAs from the Pawan Chamling-led SDF in August 2019. Subsequently, it also emerged victorious in two of three assembly bypolls, making it a key player in the state’s politics.

(Edited by Richa Mishra)