The BJP has decided not to contest the Assembly by-elections in Sikkim and instead concentrate on strengthening its organisational base.

The decision suggests that the BJP is yet to recover from the humiliating defeat it suffered in the Assembly elections six months ago.

D.R. Thapa, the president of the BJP’s Sikkim unit, said: “We have received instructions from the BJP head office in New Delhi not to participate in the by-elections but concentrate on the ongoing membership drive and strengthen our organisational base.”

In the April 19 Sikkim Assembly elections, the BJP had fielded candidates in 31 of 32 Assembly constituencies. However, the current chief minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) polled more votes than the 31 BJP candidates combined.

Golay, who had contested from two Assembly constituencies, polled 10,094 votes from Rhenock and 10,480 votes from Soreng-Chakung, bringing the total number of votes polled in his favour to 20,574.

The 31 BJP candidates managed to poll only 19,956 votes.

The November 13 by-elections will be held in the Soreng-Chakung segment that Golay vacated and the Namchi-Singhithang constituency his wife Krishna Kumar Rai quit within 24 hours of taking oath as an MLA. Aditya, Golay’s son from his first wife Sharda, is contesting from the Soreng seat.

The BJP’s defeat was considered humiliating by many as the saffron party had run a high-pitched and “domineering” campaign and tried to bulldose regional parties.

BJP president J.P. Nadda while campaigning during the Sikkim elections in April had said that as far as regional parties were concerned, “enough is enough”.

“I want to make a request. Enough is enough. You have to come to the mainstream and mainstream is BJP and the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi. There have been enough of regional parties...,” Nadda had said.

The BJP leaders had tried to label regional leaders as corrupt.

“You need to concentrate on the mainstream party. Hence, you should bid goodbye to them and also bid goodbye to corruption. We will provide you with clean, people-oriented, full of progress, full of peace, full of infrastructure, full development and mainstreaming of Sikkim that is what I promise....,” Nadda remarked, adding that the days of the regional parties were gone.

Sikkim BJP president Thapa admitted that the Assembly results had not gone the way the party had expected. “The results did not go the way we had expected. We have, however, decided to forget the loss, leave it behind and move ahead,” said Thapa.

Thapa had been a vocal critic of Golay in the past.

When asked if it was demoralising for a party not to contest an election, Thapa clarified: “We are not participating and also not supporting any party in this election.”