Former Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling casts his vote in Namchi

Polling for 32 assembly seats and the lone Lok Sabha constituency in Sikkim began simultaneously on Friday.

Speaking to ANI, the leader of the Sikkim Democratic Front party claimed that the ruling party in Sikkim is threatening people and hence they are not able to cast their vote independently.

"The people are not able to vote independently because the ruling party is threatening the people. There have also been some violent incidents in Gangtok Arithang. This is what I heard but overall, people are casting their vote," Chamling said while speaking to ANI.

Pawan Kumar Chamling, the leader of the Sikkim Democratic Front, aims to secure his ninth consecutive term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He's running for seats in two assembly constituencies, Poklok-Kamrang in Namchi district and Namcheybung in Gangtok district.

Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Janata party is leaving no stone unturned to establish itself in the northeastern state.

Earlier this month, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda released the party's manifesto for the Sikkim Assembly Election at Gangtok.

The manifesto is titled "Modi Ki Guarantee--Viksit Bharat Viksit Sikkim."

Launching an attack at the Congress, Nadda said, "The previous governments believed in isolation and ignorance. They wanted to keep the people isolated, ignore them and increase their vote bank politics. This was the style of functioning of the Congress party and other parties. But when PM Modi became the Prime Minister, he said, "Look East, Act East, Act Fast and Act First."

"In collaboration with the Central Government, we will establish, an Indian Institute of Management of world class here in Sikkim. We will establish the National Institute of Design for the development of youths and vocational training in Sikkim. In the same way, to give potential to the youth and give a boost to tourism here, we will set up the Institute of Hotel Management," he promised the voters in Sikkim. (ANI)