| Country: | Kingdom of Sikkim |
| Variant: | 1967 |
| Type: | legislative |
| Previous Election: | 1970 Sikkimese general election |
| Previous Year: | 1970 |
| Next Election: | 1974 Sikkimese general election |
| Next Year: | 1974 |
| Election Date: | 10 and 23 January 1973 |
| Seats For Election: | 18 of the 24 seats in the State Council |
| Party1: | Sikkim National Party |
| Last Election1: | 8 |
| Seats1: | 9 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Party2: | Sikkim National Congress |
| Last Election2: | 3 |
| Seats2: | 5 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Party3: | Sikkim Janata Congress |
| Last Election3: | – |
| Seats3: | 2 |
| Seat Change3: | – |
General elections were held in Sikkim in January 1973.[1] [2] The Sikkim National Party emerged as the largest party, winning nine of the 18 elected seats.[3]
The State Council was established in 1953 by the Chogyal.[4] It originally had 18 members, of which 12 were elected and six (including the President) appointed by the Chogyal.[4] Of the 12 elected members, six were for the Nepali community and six for the Lepcha and the Bhutia communities.[4] For the 1958 elections the number of seats was increased to 20 by adding one seat for the Sangha and an additional appointed member.[4] In 1966 a further four seats had been added; one each for the Nepali and Lepcha/Bhutia communities, together with one for the Tsong and a scheduled caste seat.[5]
Candidates for election to the Council had to be at least 30 years old, whilst the voting age was set at 21.[4]
The election schedule was announced by the Election Commission on 23 September 1972.
| Poll Event | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Publication of final electoral rolls | 24 October 1972 |
| 2 | Last Date for filing nomination | 31 October 1972 |
| 3 | Last date for withdrawal of nominations | 25 November 1972 |
| 4 | Polling - Phase 1 (West, South districts) | 10 January 1973 |
| Polling - Phase 2 (Gangtok, East, North districts) | 23 January 1973 | |
| 5 | Date of Counting | 29 January 1973 |
| 6 | Announcement of Results | 15 February 1973 |
Prior to the elections the Sikkim State Congress and the Sikkim Janata Party merged to form the Sikkim Janata Congress.[2]
| Constituency | Reservation | Name | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West | Sikkimese Nepali | Chattra Bahadur Chettri | Sikkim National Congress | ||
| 2 | Chandra Bahadur Rai | Sikkim National Congress | ||||
| 3 | Bhutia-Lepcha | Thendup Tsering Bhutia | Sikkim National Party | |||
| 4 | South | Sikkimese Nepali | Durga Prasad Rai | Sikkim National Congress | ||
| 5 | Bhuwani Prasad Kharel | Sikkim Janata Congress | ||||
| 6 | Bhutia-Lepcha | Khunzang Dorji | Sikkim National Party | |||
| 7 | Gangtok | Sikkimese Nepali | Ashok Tsering Bhutia | Sikkim National Party | ||
| 8 | Bhutia-Lepcha | Harka Bahadur Basnett | Sikkim National Party | |||
| 9 | East | Sikkimese Nepali | Nima Tenzing | Sikkim National Party | ||
| 10 | Kalzing Gyatso | Sikkim National Party | ||||
| 11 | Bhutia-Lepcha | Bhuwani Prasad Dahal | Sikkim Janata Congress | |||
| 12 | North | Sikkimese Nepali | Netuk Lama | Sikkim National Party | ||
| 13 | Ugyen Palzor Kazi | Sikkim National Party | ||||
| 14 | Bhutia-Lepcha | Kul Bahadur Chettri | Sikkim National Party | |||
| 15 | General | None | Kazi Lhendup Dorjee | Sikkim National Congress | ||
| 16 | SC | Purna Bahadur Khati | Independent | |||
| 17 | Tsong | Krishna Bahadur Limbu | Sikkim National Congress | |||
| 18 | Sangha | Peyching Lama[6] | Independent | |||
| Source: Election Committee[7] | ||||||
In addition to the elected members, six members were appointed to the Sikkim State Council by the Chogyal on 5 March; Traten Sherba Gyaltsen, Madan Mohan Rasaily, Chhoutuk Tsering Pazo, Dhan Bahadur Chettri, Kali Prasad Rai and Atang Lepcha.[8]
Following the election, the Sikkim National Congress and Sikkim Janata Congress claimed that vote rigging took place in the South Sikkim constituency.[9] They demanded that officials involved were arrested, but these demands were not met, leading to protests.[2] The unrest led to the signing of a tripartite agreement on 8 May between the Choygal, Sikkimese political parties and the government of India. The agreement provided for the establishment of a responsible government under the supervision of a Chief Executive nominated by the Indian government.