Sikkim Democratic Front | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Pawan Kumar Chamling |
| Founded | 4 March 1993 |
| Headquarters | S.D.F Bhawan, Indira Byepass Gangtok, Sikkim |
| ECI Status | State Party [1] |
| Alliance |
|
| Seats in Lok Sabha | 0 / 543 |
| Seats in Rajya Sabha | 0 / 245 |
| Seats in Sikkim Legislative Assembly | 0 / 32 |
| Election symbol | |
 | |
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.
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] The party won only 1 seat in the 2024 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election, with former CM Pawan Kumar Chamling losing the election from both the seats he contested. Later, its only MLA defected to Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, thus reducing its strength in the legislative assembly to zero. [9]
| № | Name | Term | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pawan Kumar Chamling (MLA from Namchi-Singhithang) | 12 December 1994 | 23 May 2019 | 24 years, 162 days |
| Year | Total Seats | Seats Contested | Seats Won | Forfeited Deposits | % Votes contested | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 32 | 32 | 19 | 1 | 42.00 | [10] |
| 1999 | 32 | 31 | 24 | 0 | 52.83 | [11] |
| 2004 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 0 | 71.09 | [12] |
| 2009 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 67.52 | [13] |
| 2009 (by-election) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 80.77 | [14] |
| 2014 | 32 | 32 | 22 | 0 | 56.74 | [15] |
| 2014 (by-election) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 43.68 | [16] |
| 2017 (by-election) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 90.15 | [17] |
| 2019 | 32 | 32 | 15 | 0 | 47.63 | [18] |
| 2019 (by-election) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15.18 | [19] [20] [21] |
| 2024 | 32 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 27.37 | [22] [23] |
| Year | Total Seats | Seats Contested | Seats Won | Forfeited Deposits | % Votes contested | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 72.15 | [24] |
| 1998 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 65.72 | [25] |
| 1999 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52.56 | [26] |
| 2004 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 69.84 | [27] |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 63.30 | [28] |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52.98 | [29] |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 43.92 | [30] |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20.05 | [31] |
Sikkim Prajatantra Congress is a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim. Pawan Chamling, the current leader of Sikkim Democratic Front and Sikkim Chief Minister, was the treasurer of SPC 1978–1984. In the state assembly elections 1979 SPC had launched candidates in all 32 constituencies, and won four seats. The party got 11,400 votes (15,76%).
Pawan Kumar Chamling is an Indian politician and writer who served as the 5th Chief Minister of Sikkim from 1994 to 2019. He is the longest serving Chief Minister of Sikkim and India, surpassing Jyoti Basu. Chamling is the Founding President of the Sikkim Democratic Front. He also served as the Leader of the opposition, Sikkim Legislative Assembly in the year of 2019. He represents the Namchi-Singhithang constituency in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly since 2019 till 2024 and the Damthang constituency from 1985 to 1994. Prior to establishing the Sikkim Democratic Front, Chamling served as Minister for Industries, Information and Public Relations from 1989 to 1992 in Nar Bahadur Bhandari's cabinet.
Nar Bahadur Bhandari was an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of the state of Sikkim from 1979 to 1994. He briefly served as Member of Parliament representing Sikkim Lok Sabha constituency from 1984 to 1985. He was the founding leader of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad. He was popularly remembered for his efforts to include the Nepali language in 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India. He was awarded with prestigious Jagadamba Shree Purasakar for his contribution for Nepali language. He was the first Indian chief minister of Gorkha origin. He also served as the president of Bharatiya Nepali Bhasha Parisangh until his death. He is popularly known as the architect of modern Sikkim.
Sikkim Lok Sabha constituency is a Lok Sabha constituency which covers the entire area of the state of Sikkim.
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The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee(SPCC) is the unit of the Indian National Congress for the state of Sikkim, India. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates for local, state, and national elections. Its head office is situated in Gangtok.
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha is a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim which is the ruling party of Sikkim since 2019.
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The election was held on 12 April 2014 for 9th assembly of Sikkim, the northeastern state of India. It elected 32 members of Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
Prem Singh Tamang, better known as P. S. Golay, is an Indian politician and former teacher who is serving as the 6th and current Chief Minister of Sikkim since 2019 and the founder and leader of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha since 2019. He represents the Poklok-Kamrang in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly since 2019, Upper Burtuk from 2009 to 2019 and Chakung from 1994 to 2009. Before forming the SKM party, he was a key member of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) Party.
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