General elections were held in the Kingdom of Sikkim on 13 April 1974. They were the first elections in Sikkim to be held on the basis of universal suffrage, and also the last prior to the Indian annexation of the kingdom. The result was a victory for the Sikkim National Congress, which won 31 of the 32 seats in the State Council. Kazi Lhendup Dorjee subsequently became Chief Minister.Sikkim Legislative Assembly: An overview Sikkim Assembly In May 1975 Sikkim became a state of India, at which point the State Council became the Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
Background In the 1973 elections the Sikkim National Party won nine seats out of eighteen elected seats in the 24-seat Sikkim State Council. The Sikkim National Congress and Sikkim Janata Congress claimed there had been vote rigging, leading to protests. Political parties and members of the public demanded one man, one vote. On 8 May 1973 a tripartite agreement was signed between the Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, political parties and the government of India. The agreement provided for the establishment of a responsible government under the supervision of a Chief Executive nominated by the Indian government.
Electoral system Through the Representations of Sikkim Subjects Act, 1974, the Chogyal divided Sikkim into 31 territorial constituencies and one Sangha constituency. The 31 territorial constituencies were allocated as 15 for Nepalis, 15 for the Bhutia-Lepcha and one for scheduled castes, under a parity formula. The Sangha constituency represented Chogyal-recognized monasteries.
Campaign The Sikkim National Congress contested all the 32 seats, whilst the Sikkim National Party contested five seats. Elections were held with the support of Election Commission of India.Bareh, p. 18
Results
Constituency-wise #ConstituencyReservedforWinnerParty1YoksamBLDegay Bhutia Sikkim National Congress2TashidingKazi Lhendup Dorjee3GeyzingNepalisKumari Hemlata Chettri4DentamNarbahadur Khatiwada5BarmiokNanda Kumar Subedi6RinchenpongBLNayen Tshering Lepcha7ChakungNepalisB. B. Gurung8SoreongChatur Singh Rai9DaramdinKrishna Bahadur Limboo10Jorethang-NayabazarKrishna Chandra Pradhan11RalangBLPassang Tshering Bhutia12WakAdar Singh Lepcha13DamthangNepalisRatna Bijay Rai14MelliNanda Bahadur Rai15Rateypani WestPendam Bhuwani Prasad Kharel16Temi-TarkuBadri Nath Pradhan17Central Pendam-East PendamKehar Singh Karki18RhenockBhawani Prasad Dahal19ReguMohan Gurung20PathingBLSonpom Lepcha21Loosing-PachekhaniNepalisR. C. Poudyal22KhamdongSCKusu Das23DjonguBLLoden Tsering Lepcha24Lachen-MangshilaTasa Tengay Lepcha25Kabi-TingdaKalzang Gyatso BhutiaSikkim National Party26Rakdong-TentekRinzing Tongden LepchaSikkim National Congress27MartamShepochung Bhutia28RumtekPhigu Tshering Bhutia29Assam-LingjeyDugo Bhutia30RankaNim Tshering Lepcha31GangtokDorjee Tshering Bhutia32SanghaSanghaKarma Gonpo LamaSource: Sikkim Darbar Gazette
Council of Ministers The Chogyal appointed the Council of Ministers on 23 July. NameRoleKazi Lhendup DorjeeChief MinisterRinzing Tongden LepchaMinisterBhawani Prasad DahalDorjee Tshering BhutiaKrishna Chandra Pradhan
References