SDF to boycott ULB polls over “unfair” reservation, questions 2022 census claim

GANGTOK,: The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) on Friday announced that it will not contest the upcoming Urban Local Body (ULB) elections, alleging that the reservation of seats across communities is “unfair, unconstitutional and based on an unverified census.”

Addressing a press conference, SDF vice president Krishna Kharel said the party has decided to boycott the elections until what it described as “just and proportionate representation” is ensured. He questioned the State government’s claim that a census was conducted in 2022, as stated by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang-Golay during the one-day Assembly session on Thursday.

Kharel said, “The Chief Minister stated in the Assembly that a census was conducted in 2022, but where is the record, when was it notified or made public. As far as we know, the only legitimate census is the 2011 national census, and any reservation should be based on that.” He further alleged that relying on an unannounced survey amounts to a violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before law and equal protection of laws.

Citing community-wise distribution, Kharel claimed that the Gurung community has been allocated only one seat across the State, the Limboo community two reserved seats along with one unreserved, while the Tamang community has been given eight reserved seats. He argued that based on earlier census data, Central OBCs should have received around 17 seats instead of eight, and State OBCs around 14 to 15 seats instead of 11. “This reservation has been done arbitrarily without proportionate representation. It is against the Constitution and against the law,” he said.

The SDF leader described the alleged 2022 exercise as a “party-based and unannounced census,” adding that no all-party consultation or public participation was undertaken before determining reservations.

“A population survey cannot be carried out unilaterally. There should have been discussions with all political parties and consensus before arriving at such decisions,” he said. He added that the party had submitted its grievances to the State Election Commission but received no concrete response.

“We placed all our concerns before the Commission, but were told to come later. Till now, there has been no proper hearing,” he said.

Raising concerns over the timing of the elections, Kharel said the polls were declared within six days of announcing the reservation matrix, leaving little scope for political parties to respond. He also questioned the urgency of conducting ULB elections in newly created districts such as Pakyong and Soreng, stating that these areas are yet to be fully developed institutionally.

“There were no public hearings before declaring these areas as Nagar Panchayats. When existing panchayat and zilla structures are already in place, the need for such hurried elections is questionable,” he said, also pointing out that the current ULB bodies have not been formally dissolved, creating uncertainty over ongoing public works.

Reiterating the party’s stand, Kharel said, “Until all communities receive fair representation, we will not participate in the elections. Accepting this reservation would mean endorsing injustice.” He rejected suggestions that the boycott reflects reluctance to contest, stating that the party is instead fighting for constitutional rights and equitable representation. “This is not about power or seats, it is about justice for all communities,” he said.

During the Assembly session, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang-Golay had maintained that the reservation exercise was based on a State-conducted census in 2022 approved by the Cabinet. He stated that unreserved seats have increased from 12 in 2021 to 13 in 2026, State OBC seats from nine to 11, Central OBC from six to eight, while Scheduled Tribe seats have risen from 18 to 25 and Scheduled Caste seats remain unchanged at six. He said the increase, particularly for Scheduled Tribes, reflects their population share in urban areas and dismissed allegations of imbalance as baseless, asserting that reservations have been determined strictly on population data.