Sikkim polls tomorrow for lone LS and 32 assembly seats

Sikkim goes to a single phase poll tomorrow for the lone Lok Sabha seat and the 32-member state assembly.      

Prominent candidates contesing the assembly polls are Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, who is the Sikkim Democratic Front chief and his arch rival and Congress state president Nar Bhadur Bhandari.      

All the seven contestants in the Lok Sabha seats are first timers, with Congress having fielded former minister K N Upreti and the SDF, former deputy chairman of the state planning commission P D Rai.      

Sikkim has a total electorate of 3,00,165 who were eligible to exercise their franchise in 493 polling stations. There are 27 sensitive and 62 hypersensitive polling stations.       

Polling parties along with EVMs have been despatched to the booths, Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO) D K Pradhan said.      

He said six-member polling parties, including a presiding officer would be present at each polling station.      

On security measures, he said seven companies of CRPF have been made available to the state, while local police stations would look after the security at polling stations in their jurisdictions.      

There are eight central observers who would monitor the polling process.