Sikkim Democratic Front

Summary

Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Sikkim. It was the ruling party in Sikkim from 12 December 1994 to 23 May 2019.

Sikkim Democratic Front
PresidentPawan Kumar Chamling
Rajya Sabha LeaderHishey Lachungpa
Founded4 March 1993 (31 years ago) (1993-03-04)
HeadquartersS.D.F Bhawan, Indira Byepass Gangtok, Sikkim
IdeologyDemocratic socialism
ECI StatusState Party[1]
Alliance
Seats in Lok Sabha
0 / 1
Seats in Rajya Sabha
0 / 1
Seats in Sikkim Legislative Assembly
1 / 32
Election symbol

History edit

The party was founded by Pawan Kumar Chamling in 1993. It has ruled the Sikkim state from 1994 to 2019 with Pawan Kumar Chamling as the chief minister. The party consolidated its position sweeping the 1999 and 2004 state elections. It won 31 of the 32 assembly seats in the 2004 election.[2] In the 2009 assembly election, the party made a clean sweep, winning all 32 seats. It also retained the lone Lok Sabha seat.[3] In 2014 assembly elections, SDF won 22 seats and retained power.

In May 2016, after the BJP led NDA formed its first government in Assam, a new alliance called the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) was formed with BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma as its convener.[4] The Chief Ministers of the north eastern states of Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland too belong to this alliance. Thus, the Sikkim Democratic Front joined the NDA led NEDA.[5]

Pawan Kumar Chamling resigned as CM after 2019 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election as former member Prem Singh Tamang's Sikkim Krantikari Morcha party formed the government by winning 17 seats out of 32. SDF party won the remaining 15 seats. But in August 2019, 10 MLAs quit his party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party and in the same month two other legislators joined Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. Thus making Pawan Kumar Chamling the only MLA of his party.[6][7][8]

Frontal Organisation edit

  • Youth Wing
  • Student's Wing
  • Women's Wing
  • Labour Wing
  • Cultivators and Organic Farmers Wing
  • Ex-servicemen Wing
  • Scheduled Tribe Welfare Wing
  • Scheduled Caste Welfare Wing
  • Drivers Wing
  • Traders Wing

List of Chief Minister edit

Name Term Tenure
1 Pawan Kumar Chamling
(MLA from Namchi-Singhithang)
12 December 1994 23 May 2019 24 years, 162 days

Electoral records edit

Sikkim Legislative Assembly election
Year Total Seats Seats Contested Seats Won Forfeited Deposits % Votes contested Source
1994 32 32 19 1 42.00 [9]
1999 32 31 24 0 52.83 [10]
2004 32 32 31 0 71.09 [11]
2009 32 32 32 0 67.52 [12]
2009 (by-election) 1 1 1 0 80.77 [13]
2014 32 32 22 0 56.74 [14]
2014 (by-election) 1 1 0 0 43.68 [15]
2017 (by-election) 1 1 1 0 90.15 [16]
2019 32 32 15 0 47.63 [17]
2019 (by-election) 3 3 0 0 15.18 [18][19][20]
Lok Sabha election, Sikkim
Year Total Seats Seats Contested Seats Won Forfeited Deposits % Votes contested Source
1996 1 1 1 0 72.15 [21]
1998 1 1 1 0 65.72 [22]
1999 1 1 1 0 52.56 [23]
2004 1 1 1 0 69.84 [24]
2009 1 1 1 0 63.30 [25]
2014 1 1 1 0 52.98 [26]
2019 1 1 0 0 43.92 [27]

See also edit

External links edit

  • Chief Electoral Officer, Sikkim
  • Sikkim Assembly, Sikkim

References edit

  1. ^ "List of Political Parties and Election Symbols main Notification Dated 18.01.2013" (PDF). India: Election Commission of India. 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Election Commission India". Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010. Election Commission of India - Sikkim Assembly Elections
  3. ^ http://ceosikkim.nic.in/Index.htm Election Results 2009
  4. ^ "Sikkim CM wants BJP chief to step in". The Times of India.
  5. ^ "Amit Shah holds meeting with northeast CMS, forms alliance". 25 May 2016.
  6. ^ BJP now main opposition party in Sikkim even without winning a single seat[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ 10 SDF legislators switch over to BJP
  8. ^ Ten SDF MLAs join BJP: Sikkim may be headed towards Arunachal Pradesh route, as mass crossovers leave ex-CM in the lurch
  9. ^ "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1994 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM". ECI. 1994. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  10. ^ "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1999 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM". ECI. 1999. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  11. ^ "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 2004 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM". ECI. 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  12. ^ "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 2009 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM". ECI. 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  13. ^ "SDF's Binod Rai wins by securing 4930 votes". The Sikkim Times. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  14. ^ "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 2014 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM". ECI. 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Bye Election Result 2014: Sikkim Rangang-Yangang-15". ECI. 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Bye Election Result 2017: Sikkim 28- Upper Burtuk (AC)". ECI. 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  17. ^ "SKM ends Chamling's 25-year rule". FRONTLINE. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Final result of Poklok-Kamrang bye-poll". Sikkim Express (Facebook). 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  19. ^ "Final result of Martam-Rumtek bye-poll". Sikkim Express (Facebook). 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Final result of Gangtok bye-poll". Sikkim Express (Facebook). 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  21. ^ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1996 to the Eleventh Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 385. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  22. ^ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1998 to the Twelfth Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 233. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  23. ^ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1999 to the Thirteenth Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 224. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  24. ^ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 2004 to the Fourteenth Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 281. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  25. ^ "Constituency Wise Detailed Results" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 122. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  26. ^ "Constituencywise-All Candidates". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014.
  27. ^ "Sikkim Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Live". News 18. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.