BJP Becomes Main Opposition in Sikkim as 10 SDF MLAs Join the Party
On Tuesday, ten legislators from the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) formally switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party at an event held in New Delhi, turning the BJP into the main opposition in Sikkim. Former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, who heads the SDF, did not make the switch.
Reactions
Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, one of the SDF leaders who changed sides, said joining the BJP had brought them into the political mainstream and that they would follow the wishes of the central leadership. He said people in Sikkim wanted growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would welcome the move.
JP Nadda, the BJP’s national working president, and general secretary Ram Madhav presided over the event, and the party’s state party president DB Chauhan welcomed the new entrants, saying their decision would benefit Sikkim.
SDF spokesperson Ganesh Kumar Rai said his party would go on serving the state as a constructive opposition. He called the defection “nothing unnatural” and wished the departing legislators well.
Background
The BJP had not won a single seat in the recent Sikkim assembly election. The SDF took 15 of the 32 seats and the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) 17, ending the SDF’s 25-year hold on the House. Chamling, who founded the SDF in 1993 and has remained its unanimously elected president, had earlier set a record as the longest-serving chief minister of any Indian state, going past Jyoti Basu of West Bengal. Under his leadership Sikkim was named the Cleanest State in India and the First Fully Organic State in 2016, among other awards.
SKM leader Prem Singh Tamang, known as PS Golay, then took over as Chief Minister and must get elected within 6 months if he is to stay in the post. He was released from jail last year after a conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act and is barred from contesting until August 2024. He recently wrote to the Election Commission of India seeking a waiver, under Section 11 of the Act, of the remaining period of his disqualification.
What happened next
In the 2024 Sikkim assembly election, the SKM won 31 of the 32 seats and Prem Singh Tamang remained Chief Minister.
See also: Bharatiya Janata Party and state elections.
Originally published on 14 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.
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