Gangtok, Oct 18 (IANS) The ruling party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) is gearing up for the upcoming bypolls in the state after its parliamentary board meeting on Friday to discuss the potential candidates for the elections.

According to an official statement, the names of the candidates will be announced soon after getting the nod of Chief Minister Tamang.

The first meeting of the parliamentary board was chaired by the chairman of the board Kunga Nima Lepcha and attended by members Sonam Lama, Arun Kumar Upreti, Bhoj Raj Rai, and Nar Bahadur Dahal (Chettri) in Deorali locality in Gangtok.

A senior party official said that the meeting focused on initial discussions regarding potential candidates for the upcoming byelections in the Soreng- Chakung and Namchi- Singhithang assembly constituencies and strategies for the party’s campaign were also formulated with suggestions that came from party workers.

The parliamentary board was recently formed by the party president and Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang. The meeting commenced with the members offering Khadas to the board chairman as a gesture of respect.

“The committee will soon submit its report to the Chief Minister Tamang and the party’s official candidates’ names will be announced shortly. The committee further urged all party workers to remain patient until the official candidates are declared and appeal to offer unanimous support for the party’s decision,” a party leader said.

Two Assembly constituencies in Sikkim, which were left vacant after Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang and his wife Krishna Kumari Rai resigned from their respective seats, will go to polls on November 13, and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.

The Soreng-Chakung Assembly constituency fell vacant after the resignation of Chief Minister Tamang as he had contested from two seats during the 2024 Sikkim Assembly election.

The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, mandates that a legislator relinquish one of two Assembly constituencies within 14 days after the declaration of election results and can only represent one Assembly constituency.

Meanwhile, the Namchi-Singhithang seat was left vacant after the resignation of Krishna Kumari Rai.

Chief Minister Tamang contested this year's state Assembly polls from two constituencies and won both seats by a margin of more than 7,000 votes.

His party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha swept the elections by winning 31 out of a total of 32 Assembly seats in the state.