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The result of the Assembly elections in the northeastern states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will be announced on Sunday, two days ahead of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections.
Polling for 32 assembly seats in Sikkim was held simultaneously on April 19, in the first phase of the just concluded Lok Sabha elections. In Sikkim, the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) are in a cut-throat competition with the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). Recently in November 2023, footballer Bhaichung Bhutia's Hamro Sikkim Party merged with the SDF. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the SKM won 17 seats, while the SDF secured 15 seats. The exit polls predict that the SKM will come back to power in the state. According to the Axis My India exit poll, BJP may get zero to two seats in Sikkim, the SKM may win 24-30, SDF may win one to three seats, the Citizen Action Party (CAP) may win zero to two while others may get zero to one seat. Polling for the 60 assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh was also held on April 19, simultaneously with the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. In Arunachal Pradesh, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoys an edge as it has won 10 of the 60 seats in the state uncontested. Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein have already won their respective seats. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 41 seats in Arunachal Pradesh. The Janata Dal (United) bagged seven, the National People's Party (NPP) five, Congress four, and the Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) one. Two independents also won in the Assembly polls. All except one Congress MLA, former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, joined the BJP. According to the Axis My India exit poll, the BJP will win 44-51 seats in Arunachal Pradesh, the NPP will win two to six, the Congress may win one to four and others may win two to six seats. The voting for the 543-member Lok Sabha was held simultaneously with the Assembly elections in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh across seven phases. While the long drawn out voting process spread over seven phases concluded on Saturday, the counting of votes is scheduled for June 4. (ANI)
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