New Delhi: With results trickling in after the counting of votes in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the ruling dispensations in both north-eastern states are set to return.While Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu is set to return to his post for a third term with his party, the BJP, picking an early lead in today’s counting of votes, in Sikkim, the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) is set for a second consecutive term with a thumping majority.With the latest trends reflected on the Election Commission (EC)’s website, Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang’s party is set to sweep the elections. By 12:45 pm, the SKM won 19 seats, as per EC data, and is leading in 12 others, while the opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has won only one seat.Illustration: Pariplab ChakrabortyWhile Tamang has been declared elected from the Rhenock seat by over ten thousand votes, he is leading by over 7,000 votes in the Soreng-Chakung seat.However, former chief minister and SDF leader Pawan Kumar Champing has lost both the Poklok-Kamrang seat and the Namcheybung seat.The chief minister’s wife, Krishna Kumari Rai, is ahead in the Namchi-Singhithang constituency, where she is pitted against the SDF’s Bimal Rai.In Barfung, former footballer Bhaichung Bhutia, who is contesting on an SDF ticket, is trailing while the SKM’s Rickshal Dorjee Bhutia is ahead with a total of over 8,000 votes.Going by the trends in Sikkim, the SKM is set to return to power with an even bigger number than in its debut in the 2019 assembly polls. While the SDF won 15 seats in 2019, the SKM had beaten it by just two seats then.While the BJP, which contested the 2019 polls without an alliance with the SKM, its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner, it later became the single largest opposition party in Sikkim when ten SDF MLAs shifted over to the national party.In the 2024 elections too, the BJP is contesting the Sikkim polls alone. As per latest reports from Sikkim, the party has not been able to take a lead in any of the state’s 32 seats.However, the party is seen to have increased its vote share in the state from 1.62% to 5.18%.Arunachal PradeshFor a simple majority, a party needs to win 17 seats in Sikkim, while in Arunachal, a party has to pocket 31 of the 60 assembly seats to reach a simple majority.Going by the latest trends uploaded by the EC, the ruling BJP is set to cross the halfway mark comfortably in Arunachal. Chief minister Khandu had already won his seat unopposed even before the voting took place in the state on April 19.As per EC data at 12:45 pm, the BJP has won 33 seats and is ahead in 12.While the National People’s Party (NPP) has won two seats, Liromoba and Tawang, an independent candidate named Wanglam Sawin has pocketed the Khonsa East seat.The People’s Party of Arunachal has pocketed the Doimukh and Mebo seats.The NPP is ahead in three other seats, while an independent named Laisam Sinai is leading in the Nampong seat. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is leading in three seats in the state so far. The Congress has so far not been able to open its account in the state.Voting in both these north-eastern states took place on April 19. Though the EC had initially announced that the counting of votes would coincide with that of the general elections on June 4, it later advanced the date to June 2 keeping in mind the end of the terms of both state assemblies on June 2.It is rare for votes to be counted on the very day a state assembly’s term is set to end.
