Regional parties dominate electoral politics in Sikkim

From Lendhup Dorujee Kazi's Sikkim National Congress to Pawan Kumar Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front, Sikkim has a distinction of being ruled by regional parties since it became the 22th state after merger with India in 1975.

From Lendhup Dorujee Kazi's Sikkim National Congress (SNC) to Pawan Kumar Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), Sikkim has a distinction of being ruled by regional parties since it became the 22th state after merger with India in 1975.

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Kazi had led the SNC to a landslide victory in the elections held for the state assembly in April 1974 bagging 31 out of 32 seats to form the first-ever elected government.

He took the oath of office as Chief Minister of Sikkim, along with his council of ministers again on May 16, 1975 nearly a month after the Himalayan state's integration with India following ratification of the 38th amendment of the Constitution by Parliament.

The SNC later merged with the Indian National Congress at its annual session held at Chandigarh the same year to bring the state under the rule of the national party for the first time.

In the next assembly polls held in 1979, another regional political party the Sikkim Janata Party under the leadership of Nar Bahadur Bhandari won 16 seats and formed the government with the support of an independent Sangha MLA Lachen Gomchen Rinpoche.