Sikkim Janata Party | |
---|---|
Founder | Lal Bahadur Basnet |
Founded | 1969 |
Dissolved | 1972 |
Merged into | Sikkim Janata Congress |
Colours | Blue |
Sikkim Janata Party was a political party in Sikkim. The party was founded in Gangtok on December 18, 1969 founded by Lal Bahadur Basnet. [1] [2] The party was formed after a split in the Sikkim National Congress. [3] Basnet, a well-known journalist and former general secretary of the Sikkim National Congress, served as the president of the party. [4] [5] [6] K.C. Pradhan was the general secretary of the party. [4]
Ideologically the party was committed to socialism, democracy and the unity of the Sikkimese people. [4] [2] [7] The party was active in the struggle for democratic reforms. [8] It demanded Sikkim adopt a written constitution. [3]
The party was mainly supported by Nepali community. [4] The party suffered from weak organization and lack of financial backing. [7] The party contested four seats in the fourth general election of 1970. [9] Basnet had himself contested two seats in the election. [4] Compared to other opposition parties, the Sikkim Janata Party took more radical postures. [1] During the election campaign the party called for revision of the 1950 India-Sikkim Peace Treaty, calling for greater autonomy for Sikkim (positions shared with the Sikkim National Congress and the Sikkim State Congress). [10] The party condemned the 1950 treaty as a 'slander on Sikkim'. [11]
Karma Lama of the Sikkim Janata Party contested the Sangha seat, finishing in second place with 46 votes (10.31%). [12]
Following the election, in which the party failed to win any seats, Basnet resigned from the party presidency and left the party. [13] Another key leader of the party, B.B. Gurung, also renounced his membership. [14] After these departures, K.C. Pradhan became the main leader of the party. [15]
On August 15, 1972 SJP reached an agreement with the Sikkim State Congress to merge the two parties. [1] [15] The merger was completed on October 26, 1972, with the formation of the Sikkim Janata Congress. [1]
A new political party called the Sikkim Janata Party emerged in Sikkim and it's [sic] president, Lal Bahadur Basnet, said that it's [sic] aim is socialism.