1953 Sikkimese general election

General elections were held in Sikkim in May 1953.^[2] The Sikkim National Party and the Sikkim State Congress both won six seats.^[2] Voter turnout was less than 30%.^[2]

1953 Sikkimese general election

23 May 1953[1] 1958 →
12 of the 18 seats in the State Council
Majority party Minority party   Party SNP SSC Seats won 6 6

Electoral system

The State Council was established in 1953 by the Chogyal.^[3] It had 18 members, of which 12 were elected and six (including the President) appointed by the Chogyal.^[3] Of the 12 elected members, six were for the Nepali community and six for the Lepcha and the Bhutia communities.^[3]

Candidates for election to the Council had to be at least 30 years old, whilst the voting age was set at 21.^[2] Around 50,000 voters registered for the election.^[2]

Results

Party		Seats
		Bhutia-Lepcha	Nepali	Total
	Sikkim National Party	6	0	6
	Sikkim State Congress	0	6	6
Appointed members		–	–	6
Total		6	6	18
Source: Hamlet Bareh

Constituency-wise

#	Constituency	Reservation	Name	Party
1	North-Central	Bhutia-Lepcha	Sonam Tshering Lepcha		Sikkim National Party
2			Martam Topden
3		Sikkimese Nepali	Khus Narain Pradhan		Sikkim State Congress
4	Gangtok	Bhutia-Lepcha	Chodup Lepcha		Sikkim National Party
5			Netuk Bhutia
6		Sikkimese Nepali	Adhiklal Pradhan		Sikkim State Congress
7	Namchi	Bhutia-Lepcha	Kunzang Rapgay		Sikkim National Party
8		Sikkimese Nepali	Kashi Raj Pradhan		Sikkim State Congress
9			Jai Narayan Subba
10	Pemayangtse	Bhutia-Lepcha	Sonam Wangchuk		Sikkim National Party
11		Sikkimese Nepali	Dhan Bahadur Gurung		Sikkim State Congress
12			Nahakul Pradhan
Source: Sikkim Darbar Gazette[4][5]

Appointed members

In addition to the elected members, five members were appointed to the Sikkim State Council by the Chogyal; John S. Lal (President of the Council and Dewan of Sikkim), Rai Bahadur Densapa, Tekbir Khati, Palda Lama and Hon Lt Prem Bahadur Basnet.^[4][5]

Executive Council

Following the elections, an Executive Council was appointed, which consisted of the President of the Council, John S. Lal and two of the elected members, Sonam Tsering and Kashiraj Pradhan.

Name	Responsibilities
John S. Lal	President of the Executive Council
Kashiraj Pradhan	Public Works, Excise, Education, and Transport
Sonam Tsering	Bazars, Forests, Health, and Press & publicity
Source: Proclamations from the Chogyal and the Dewan[6]

References

1. "Election to Sikkim State Council". The Indian Express. 2 June 1953. Retrieved 9 February 2022. ...the election which concluded on 23 May after 55 days of polling.
2. Hamlet Bareh (2001) Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Sikkim Mittal Publications, p17
3. Bareh, p16
4. "Results of elections - 1953". Sikkim Darbar Gazette. 2 (12). 12 May 1953.
5. Pem Choden Tenzing (July 2019). Monarchy to Democracy Understanding Political Development in Sikkim, 1970-1994 (Thesis). p. 147. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
6. Tashi Namgyal (4 August 1953). "State Council and Executive Council Proclamation - Memo No. 525". pp. 25, 28. Retrieved 22 June 2021.