2 Candidates Withdraw Nomination, Sikkim Assembly To Remain Opposition-Less

The candidates from another party for the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies had been rejected a day earlier.

The Sikkim Assembly will continue to remain opposition-less with candidates from the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) withdrawing their nominations for bypolls for two Assembly seats a day after the nominations of leaders from another party were rejected during scrutiny. Candidates from the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) will now win uncontested, ensuring that it will have all 32 MLAs in the Assembly. 

One of the candidates from the Pawan Kumar Chamling-led SDF has said he withdrew his nomination because he got no support from the party, while the other has not yet revealed his reason for doing so. 

In the Assembly elections held earlier this year, the Prem Singh Tamang (Golay)-led SKM had won 31 of 32 Assembly seats and the lone SDF MLA, Tenzing Norbu Lamtha, had also joined the ruling party in July. Bypolls were supposed to be held for the Soreng-Chakung and Namchi-Singhithang Assembly seats on November 13 because Mr Tamang, who had contested from two constituencies, had given up the Soreng-Chakung seat in favour of Rhenock and his wife, Krishna Kumari Rai, had quit as the MLA from Namchi-Singhithang.