And what did T Lepcha say?
He said, ‘BJP has not won a single panchayat seat on its own. We won two assembly bypolls in alliance with SKM. He was referring to his victory from the Gangtok seat and ST Venchungpa’s victory from the Martam Rumtek seat. Lepcha said, ‘I personally support that the alliance between SKM and BJP should continue in 2024 as well.’ He expressed confidence that if both the parties fight the elections together, their alliance will easily win the elections.
BJP spokesperson said, these are Lepcha’s personal views
BJP spokesperson Kamal Adhikari, however, said that the views expressed by Lepcha are his personal. “We will contest all the 32 assembly seats in Sikkim on our own as there has been no discussion on any alliance between the two parties so far,” he said. He said the BJP is committed to ensuring the sanctity of Article 371(F) that grants special status to the state.
Kamal Adhikari said, BJP committed to protect Article 371(f)
Some local political activists are accusing BJP of being an anti-Sikkim party, claiming that There have been concerns that the constitutional provisions protecting Sikkim’s archaic laws are being diluted by the ruling party at the Centre. These allegations are propaganda against the party. He said, ‘Our national and state leaders have repeatedly said that the BJP is committed to protecting the sanctity of Article 371(F) at all costs.’ The BJP has an informal alliance with the ruling SKM. It has supported the SKM-led government from outside.
BJP has 12 MLAs in Sikkim. Of these, 10 MLAs defected to the party from the opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) in 2019, while two others were elected on the party’s symbol in the assembly elections held the same year.