The polling for the general municipality elections in Sikkim will be held on Friday (April 24). The election, however, is expected to be a cakewalk for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), as opposition parties - Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) and the Citizen Action Party Sikkim (CAPS) - have already announced that they will boycott these elections. It is worth noting here that the NDA in Sikkim includes the Sikkim Krantkari Morcha (SKM) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to the State Election Commission (SEC) of Sikkim, the polling will take place 8 am to 5 pm in the northeast state. Around 93,800 voters spread across 63 wards and 121 polling stations are eligible to cast their votes in these elections, the poll body said.
These elections will be conducted across nine urban local bodies and seven nagar panchayats. The urban local bodies are Gangtok, Singtam, Pakyong, Rangpo, Gyalshing, Namchi, Jorethan, Soreng and Mangan, and they together have 63 seats. Meanwhile, the seven nagar panchayats in Sikkim are Singtam, Pakyong, Rangpo, Gyalshing, Jorethang, Soreng and Mangan.
The 2021 Sikkim General Municipality Election
The previous local body elections in Sikkim were held on March 31, 2021 and the results were declared on April 3. The elections were swept by the ruling SKM which won 58 seats unopposed, while its alliance partner, the BJP, bagged four seats, as per the SEC.
The 2026 Sikkim General Municipality Election
The State Election Commission of Sikkim will conduct the polling for these elections on Friday and the results will declared on Saturday. The elections are once again expected to be swept by the SKM, as the SDF and the CAPS have decided to boycott them, raising questions over the reservation criteria for the urban body polls in the northeast state.
Following is the number of wards and polling stations in Sikkim:
- Gangtok Municipal Corporation – 21 wards, 69 polling stations
- Singtam Nagar Panchayat – 5 wards, 6 polling stations
- Pakyong Nagar Panchayat – 5 wards, 9 polling stations
- Rangpo Nagar Panchayat – 5 wards, 7 polling stations
- Gyalshing Nagar Panchayat – 5 wards, 5 polling stations
- Namchi Municipal Council – 7 wards, 9 polling stations
- Naya Bazar Jorethang Nagar Panchayat – 5 wards, 6 polling stations
- Soreng Nagar Panchayat – 5 wards, 5 polling stations
- Mangan Nagar Panchayat – 5 wards, 5 polling stations
What about the district-wise data?
- Gangtok District – 21 wards, 69 polling stations, 58806 voters
- Gyalshing District – 5 wards, 5 polling stations, 2,662 voters
- Mangan District – 5 wards, 5 polling stations, 2,043 voters
- Namchi District – 7 wards, 9 polling stations, 7069 voters
- Pakyong District – 5 wards, 9 polling stations, 3883 voters
- Soreng District – 5 wards, 5 polling stations, 1,850 voters
ALSO READ - Sikkim General Municipality Election 2026: Full poll schedule, parties, candidates and wards
