Chief election officer D Anandan informed on 20th March that there has been an increase of 69,783 voters in Sikkim since the 2009 elections. The number of polling stations in Sikkim has also been increased to 538 from 493, he said. There are 12 Assembly constituencies in the east district for which the election authorities have set up 207 polling stations. There are only 44 polling stations in north district which elects three MLAs. Chujachen constituency in east district with 15,402 voters has the highest number of voters in the State followed by Rhenock with 15,153 voters. 

According to political observers unlike earlier elections, this time Chamling will have to face a tough challenge from Golay even as they say that Goyal’s chances of forming the next Government are slim.

“Based on the report of returning officers, 121 polling stations have been identified as critical. The sensitive boothsin Sikkim are 33 in east, 51 in west, eight in north and 29 in south district. Altogether 3,500 government employees will be pressed for poll duty across the State. They have been divided into 538 groups each headed by a presiding officer and assisted by five polling officers.

The Vote counting centres district-wise are: TNA Auditorium Hall in Gangtok for east district, Zilla Panchayat Bhavan in Mangan for north district, Kyongsa Girls Senior Secondary School in Geyzing for west district and Namchi Senior Secondary School Auditorium Hall for south district. Voting for the 32 Assembly seats and the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim will take place on the 12th of April 12 while the counting of votes is slated on May 16th.

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling in his election campaign claimed that his party Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) would form the next Government without any doubt. “We will win all 32 seats again and I am already planning for the next cabinet. Election 12 April is just a formality,” he said. 

PS Golay, on the other hand, is a strong political opponent in this Himalayan State. Golay revolted against Chamling and formed the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) just a year back. However, within a short span SKM has grown immensely in terms of popularity. According to political observers unlike earlier elections, this time Chamling will have to face a tough challenge from Golay even as they say that Goyal’s chances of forming the next Government are slim.

The BJP has also fielded its candidates in the State but its clout here is negligible. The Indian National Congress also has limited presence. Recently Kunga Nima Lepcha, Sikkim Pradesh Congress Chief, himself migrated to the Golay group. In this scenario, the Congress has fielded its candidates in all 32 seats of the State. All that is left now is for the people to cast their votes and determine who will hold the reins of power for the next five years.

Anoop Rai