Why did BJP lose in Sikkim?

The BJP contested 31 assembly seats in Sikkim, but it could not win even a single seat. On one hand, there is talk of a BJP wave in the entire country. On the other hand, the BJP had to face a crushing defeat in Sikkim. It had 12 members in the outgoing House of the state. The results of the Sikkim Assembly were declared on Sunday, in which the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) retained power by winning 31 out of 32 seats.

This time the BJP could get only 5.18 percent votes in the state. SKM got 58.38 percent votes, while the Sikkim Democratic Front got 27.37 percent votes. These results give an idea of ​​how bad the performance of the BJP was in Sikkim. In such a situation, the question arises that when the BJP has given the slogan of crossing 400 in the Lok Sabha elections, then why was the performance so poor in Sikkim. Let us take a look at some of the major reasons for BJP's defeat in Sikkim.

Sikkim BJP president Dilli Ram Thapa lost to SKM candidate Kala Rai in Upper Burtuk assembly constituency. Thapa, a sitting MLA and former minister, lost by 2,968 votes. While Rai got 6,723 votes, Thapa got 3,755 votes. Sikkim Democratic Front's D B Thapa got 1,623 votes, while B K Tamang (CAP-A) got 581 votes. BJP contested 31 assembly seats except Lachen Mangan seat and BJP candidates lost their deposits in most of the seats.

BJP had decided to contest the elections alone after breaking its alliance with Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) led by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang.

BJP had decided to contest the elections alone this time after seat sharing talks broke down due to SKM's unwillingness to meet its demand for respectable seats. Obviously, BJP has suffered a loss by contesting the elections alone. At the same time, BJP had 12 MLAs in the outgoing Sikkim Assembly, out of which ten were turncoats from the opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF).

The alliance between BJP and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha had broken before the elections. After which both the parties contested the elections separately. The one person who has contributed to this spectacular victory of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha is Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang who has supported BJP as an ally. Prem Singh Tamang, who was once a friend of BJP, is the reason behind BJP's huge defeat in Sikkim.

Prem Singh Tamang's journey from being a teacher to a politician and then becoming the Chief Minister is no less interesting. Tamang's party has won 31 out of 32 seats in these elections. This figure shows how huge is the difference between them and the opposition parties. Tamang is going to take over the reins of Sikkim once again by defeating his political mentor.

Till the 2019 assembly elections in Sikkim, the electoral 'track record' of the Bharatiya Janata Party has been very poor. BJP entered the electoral politics of Sikkim in 1994, when it contested on three seats and lost its deposit on all three seats.

The issue of Sikkimese identity was very important in this election, so this issue was also included in the agenda of all the parties. SKM has stressed across the state that this time's election is a battle for the soul of the local people here. It is also being said that people were angry with the divisive politics of SDF and they had to suffer the consequences in the year 2019.

Recently, the definition of 'Sikkimese' people was expanded in the state, it is being told that most of the regional parties were unhappy with this. Actually, under the new definition, the new Finance Act 2023 included the descendants of the old residents living in Sikkim till 1975. In which the definition of 'Sikkimese' people expanded beyond the local Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepali people.

The definition of 'Sikkimese' people was expanded in the state, it is being told that most of the regional parties were unhappy with this.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party had defended this move. Along with this, the party argued that this step was taken to provide the benefit of income tax exemption to the descendants of the old residents. Also, the issue of Article 371F remained in the focus of all the electoral parties. Both SKM and SDF made the protection of Article 371F the main issue, which ensures special provisions for Sikkim.