STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Sunday returned to power in Arunachal Pradesh for the third time in a row, winning 46 seats in the 60-member assembly, and bagging four more seats compared to its 2019 tally.
Meanwhile, led by its president and Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) on Sunday returned to power in the Himalayan state–Sikkim for the second consecutive term by a landslide victory, winning 31 seats in the 32-member assembly.
In sweeping the assembly elections, the counting of which was held during the day, the BJP decimated the opposition parties, especially the Congress which was relegated to the fifth position with only one seat after NPP (5), NCP (3) and PPA (2). Three seats went to Independent candidates.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu asserted that the momentum of what happened in the ‘Land of the rising sun’, a sobriquet for Arunachal Pradesh, will spread to other parts of the country on June 4 when votes for the Lok Sabha elections will be counted.
“This is a historic occasion for the BJP and entire Arunachal Pradesh. The people of Arunachal Pradesh have declared that they want BJP to stay in power for the next five years. This time, the mandate is more than what we got in 2019. In the 2019 Assembly polls, BJP won 41 seats, while we have won 46 seats this time,” Khandu told PTI Video.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the people of Arunachal Pradesh for the landslide win.
“Thank you Arunachal Pradesh! The people of this wonderful state have given an unequivocal mandate to politics of development. My gratitude to them for reposing their faith in @BJP4Arunachalyet again. Our Party will keep working with even greater vigour for the state’s growth,” Modi said in a post on X.
In response, Khandu said, “Your guidance and vision have played a monumental role in our success. We shall continue with greater vigour to work for Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas.”
Khandu himself won uncontested from the Mukto assembly constituency. Nine other BJP candidates also tasted victory unopposed.
“The people of the state has repaid to the contribution of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi)…..The development witnessed under the BJP-led NDA regime in the state is the major factor for the party’s win in the state,” Khandu asserted.
The development witnessed in Arunachal Pradesh under the BJP-led central government is a major factor for the party’s win in the state, the chief minister asserted.
“The BJP has started its winning streak from the ‘Land of Rising Sun’ (Arunachal) and this trend will spread throughout the country which the people will witness on June 4. The party will sweep the Lok Sabha polls with a huge margin and Narendra Modi become the Prime Minister for the third term,” he told reporters.
While the BJP’s vote share is 54.57 per cent, as many as 14 party candidates including Education Minister Taba Tedir, were defeated this time. The minister was defeated by NCP nominee Toko Tatung, a greenhorn, in the Yachuli constituency.
A total of 20 first-timers tasted victory in the northeastern state. Eleven of them are from BJP, four from NPP, two each from PPA and NCP and one independent.
The opposition Congress which fielded 19 candidates in the 60-member assembly managed to bag only one seat, Bamang, where former state home minister Kumar Waii won by a slender margin of 635 votes defeating BJP’s Doba Lamnio.
State Congress president NabamTuki said the party was “disappointed but not demoralised” by the election results.
“We will introspect about the causes of the defeat and work on the organisation in the coming days,” he added
The National People’s Party (NPP) which won five seats, annexed 16.11 per cent while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) gained a vote share of 10.43 per cent and won three seats.
The regional People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) which managed to win two seats had a vote share of 7.24 per cent.
Kiren Rijjiju, Union minister and Lok Sabha poll candidate from Arunachal Pradesh, said the credit for this assembly polls results goes to the people of the state, the BJP workers and the leadership of PM Modi.
The opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), which ruled the state for 25 years in a row till 2019, could manage only one seat, while its president and former CM Pawan Kumar Chamling, who is Tamang’s mentor-turned-adversary, lost in the two seats he contested.
The 73-year-old eight-term legislator will not be seen in the assembly for the first time since 1985.
Tamang, however, won from two seats, and his party bagged 58.38 per cent of the votes polled. The SKM had won 17 seats in the 2019 assembly polls.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Tamang and the SKM for the victory.
“Congratulations to SKM and CM @PSTamangGolay for their victory in the Sikkim Assembly Elections 2024. I look forward to working with the State Government to further the progress of Sikkim in the coming times,” Modi said in a post on X.
Responding to the Prime Minister’s post, Tamang thanked him.
“We are committed to continuing our efforts towards the development and prosperity of Sikkim. We look forward to collaborating with you to achieve our shared goals for the betterment of our state.
“Your unwavering support has been a driving force for us, and we look forward to your continued guidance and blessings,” Tamang said in an X..
Modi also thanked all who voted for the BJP in the Sikkim assembly elections. The saffron party contested in 31 seats but failed to win any of them. The party bagged 5.18 per cent of the total votes polled.
Sikkim BJP president Dilli Ram Thapa, a sitting MLA, also lost to SKM nominee Kala Rai in the Upper Burtuk constituency by a margin of 2,968 votes.
“I also appreciate the efforts put in by our Karyakartas. Our Party will always be at the forefront of working towards Sikkim’s development and fulfilling people’s aspirations,” Modi said in a post.
After the landslide win, Tamang congratulated the party workers and the voters of Sikkim.
“Tamang won by over 7,000 votes in both Rhenock and Soreng-Chakung constituencies. “I also want to thank the opposition as it is because of them that our party became stronger and more organised,” said the president of the SKM which had won 17 seats in 2019. “This win is not just ours; it belongs to the youth, students, and every Sikkimese who dreams of a bright future for our children and a prosperous, inclusive society,” he said.
Like the BJP, the Congress also failed to open its account and secured a paltry vote share of 0.32 per cent which is even less than that of NOTA (0.99 per cent).
Tamang asked the party workers to maintain calm in the aftermath of the landslide victory. Tamang’s wife Krishna Kumari Rai won from Namchi-Singhthang by defeating SDF’s Bimal Rai by a margin of 5302 votes.
Of the nine ministers of the Tamang government, all but Lunga Nima Lepcha won. The Speaker Arun Kumar Upreti won from Arithang constituency by 2729 votes against the SDF’s Ashish Rai.
Legendary footballer and the SDF vice-president Bhaichung Bhutia lost from Barfung constituency against the SKM candidate Rikshal Sirjee Bhutia by a margin of 4348 votes. Party supporters who gathered in large number near counting centres celebrated the victory by bursting firecrackers. Elections to the assembly were held simultaneously with the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls on April 19.