Location of Sikkim (highlighted in red) within India
The Sikkim Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the state of Sikkim, in Northeast India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Gangtok, the capital of the state. The assembly sits for a term of five years, unless it is dissolved earlier.[1] Sikkim is the second-smallest state in India, covering 7,096 km2 (2,740 sq mi); which accounts for 0.2 per cent of the total area of India.[2] The current population of Sikkim is 6.32 lakhs (630,000), making it the least populous state in India.[3] Established in 1975, the Sikkim Legislative Assembly consists of 32 members elected directly from territorial constituencies using the first-past-the-post system.[4]
Sikkim became the 22nd state of India through the 36th Amendment of the Indian Constitution in 1975.[11] The Act stipulates that the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim shall consist of no fewer than thirty-two members. The first assembly election was held in April 1974, with 32 members elected. 15 out of the 32 seats were allocated to Nepalese of Sikkimese origin, and one seat was reserved for Sangha. The Sikkim National Congress, under the leadership of Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, secured 31 seats, while the Sikkim National Party won a single seat.[12] Dorjee was chosen as the leader of the House and became Sikkim's first Chief Minister.[13]
In 1979, the second assembly was established, and the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1979, was introduced. The Bill proposed reserving 37 percent of assembly seats for the 22 percent minority Bhutia-Lepcha communities and 53 percent as general seats for the more than 70 percent Nepali population and others. Considering the numerical strength of Bhutias and Lepchas (B-L), which was 22 percent of the population during the introduction of the seat reservation bill in 1979, the anticipated reservation for B-Ls in the Legislative Assembly was 6 or 7 seats instead of 12.[10] The Act subsequently removed the reserved seats for Nepalese of Sikkimese origin.[14] The new allocation included twelve reserved seats for Bhutia-Lepcha, two seats for Scheduled Castes, one seat for Sangha, and the remaining 17 seats were designated as general seats.[13] The third assembly was constituted in March 1985, followed by the fourth assembly in 1989, where the Sikkim Sangram Parishad won all 32 seats.[15]
The following is a list of the constituencies of the Sikkim. Since its integration with India in 1979, the total number of seats in the assembly has been 32, including one seat reserved for the Sangha.[19]
