BJP set to conquer entire North East: 10 SDF MLAS join saffron party

New Delhi, Aug 13: In a big win for the BJP, 10 MLAs from the Sikkim Democratic Front had joined the party.

10 MLAs from the Sikkim Democratic Front except its chief, Pawan Kumar Chamling have joined the BJP on Tuesday. Chamling is one of the longest serving chief ministers of the state.

The ten MLAs joined the BJP in the presence of the party's working president, J P Nadda and BJP's general secretary Ram Madhav.

Until now, Sikkim was the only state in the Northeast where the BJP was not in power. The other states are either run by the parents of the North East Democratic Alliance, a special alliance of regional parties which was formed by the BJP to better its chances in the North East.

Sikkim has in all 32 seats. In the 2019 elections, the SDF won, 15, while the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha won 17. The SKM is a partner of the BJP led NDA.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP could manage only 1.62 per cent of the total votes in the state. The SDF on the other hand secured 47.63, followed by the SKM which got 47.03.
Chamling despite getting the highest vote share was unable to get a majority in the House.