Sikkim Democratic Party surges ahead in panchayat polls

The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front was racing ahead in Sikkim's first ever party-based panchayat election. The SDF bagged 96 of the 115 gram panchayat wards in four districts declared after the second round of counting.

The Opposition has so far managed to win 58 gram panchayat wards. The SDF also won 11 of the 13 zilla panchayat seats declared.

Independents have won two zilla panchayat seats. Out of the 56 GP wards declared in west Sikkim, 34 had gone to the SDF, while the opposition supported independents bagged 22 GP wards.

The SDF had won in 25 GP wards in south Sikkim out of the 40 results declared. Fifteen wards had gone in favour of independents. In east and north Sikkim, the SDF nominees had bagged 22 and 15 GP wards respectively, while independents won in seven wards.

Polling was held on Monday. Only the SDF and the Communist Party of India-Marxist had fielded official party candidates, while the opposition Sikkim Sangram Parishad, Sikkim Ekta Manch and the Congress protesting the ''politicisation of the grassroots'', had fielded independents.

The ruling SDF had contested 648 GP wards and 77 ZP seats, while the combined opposition had fielded 1211 and 189 candidates in the GP and ZP elections respectively. Earlier, 176 ruling SDF nominees were declared elected uncontested in the gram pachayat elections; the party also bagged 12 ZP seats uncontested. The opposition-backed independent candidates won 20 GP wards and one ZP seat which was uncontested.