Sikkim this time has registered heavy polling at 82.07%, outstripping many areas in the country. The increase is 3% more than the votes
The women of Sikkim played a significant role, thronging around the polling stations to exercise their franchise. Forty per cent votes were cast by the youth amongst whom a good many voted for the first time and many for the second time. In four constituencies, women voters dominated in numbers, while in six other constituencies, the difference in ratio between men and women was very marginal.
In the last general elections, only 3 women candidates were in the fray, whereas this time that number increased to 15. It is assumed that elections this time in Sikkim saw cross-voting which was never seen earlier. It is observed that choice of the candidate by the voters led them to vote according to their preference, where the party was not of utmost importance. In many constituencies, people preferred one candidate for the Assembly and the other for the Lok Sabha. For the first time, the incumbency factor has emerged here.
According to joint chief electoral officer C.P. Dhakal, the vote tally of four districts reached late because of additional time given for polling which continued till 9 pm in certain booths, causing a 16-hour delay in getting the final tally. The CEO’s office at Gangtok received the complete tally report of four districts only on Friday afternoon. The poll was completed on April 30 and all the EVMs reached the strongroom heavily guarded.
The final tally of polling is estimated at 82.07% which is 3% more than 2004 election (79.08%). The remotest as well as high altitude areas in North district polled 85.14%, West 82.74%, South 83.27% and East 79.87%.
