NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu's Sikkim visit postponed

NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu's visit to Sikkim on Saturday to meet SKM and BJP lawmakers in the state was postponed in the wake of the one-day national mourning, as a mark of respect to former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe, a SKM leader said.

Murmu has been visiting various states to seek support from lawmakers for the July 18 presidential polls.

"Murmu's Sikkim visit stands postponed in view of the mourning being observed in India as a mark of respect to the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe," senior Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) leader Jacob Khaling Rai told reporters.

All arrangements were made by ruling SKM and BJP leaders of Sikkim to receive Murmu for her visit to the state to seek support for her candidature in the upcoming presidential elections, but we came to know that her visit has been postponed, he said.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang along with MLAs of the SKM and BJP had called on Murmu in the national capital a week ago and pledged their support to her in the presidential election.

The NDA has 31 members in the 32-member Sikkim Legislative Assembly comprising 19 of the ruling SKM and 12 of the BJP which supports the Tamang government from outside.

The lone Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) MLA and former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling has also committed to support Murmu's candidature in the presidential elections.