General elections were held in Sikkim in 1958 to elect members of the State Council.Hamlet Bareh (2001) Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Sikkim Mittal Publications, p17 The Sikkim State Congress emerged as the largest party, winning seven of the 14 elected seats. Voter turnout was around 35%.
Electoral system The State Council was established in 1953 by the Chogyal.Bareh, p16 It originally had 18 members, of which 12 were elected and six (including the President) appointed by the Chogyal. Of the 12 elected members, six were for the Nepali community and six for the Lepcha and the Bhutia communities. For the 1958 elections the number of seats was increased to 20. One seat for the Sangha was added, together with an unreserved seat.
Candidates for election to the Council had to be at least 30 years old, whilst the voting age was set at 21. Around 55,000 voters registered for the election.
Results
Constituency-wise #ConstituencyReservationNameParty1Gangtok Bhutia-LepchaSonam Tshering Lepcha2Kesang Wangdi3Sikkimese NepaliNarendra Nar SinghSikkim State Congress4North-Central Bhutia-LepchaMartam Topden5Thendup Bhutia6Sikkimese NepaliNahakul PradhanSikkim State Congress7NamchiBhutia-LepchaKazi Norbu Wangdi8 Sikkimese NepaliSangkhaman Rai Sikkim State Congress9Kashi Raj Pradhan10PemayangtseBhutia-LepchaGaden Tashi11 Sikkimese NepaliSher Bahadur Gurung Sikkim State Congress12Bhujit Mukhia13GeneralGeneralChaksung Bhutia14SanghaLharipa Rinzing LamaSikkim National PartySource: Sikkim Darbar Gazette
Appointed members In addition to the elected members, six others were appointed to the Sikkim State Council by the Chogyal, on 15 March; Rai Bahadur Densapa, Rev. Chotuk Tsering Pazo, Indra Prasad Subba, Bhairap Bahadur Lamchaney, Atal Singh Dewan and Hon Lt Prem Bahadur Basnet.
Executive Council The Executive Council was chosen from among the elected members, in addition to the Dewan of Sikkim, who was its President: NameResponsibilityN. K. RustomjiPresidentK. R. PradhanSenior Executive CouncillorMartam TopdenExecutive CouncillorNahakul PradhanDeputy Executive CouncillorNorbu WangdiDeputy Executive CouncillorChuksung BhutiaDeputy Executive CouncillorSource: Proceedings of the Executive Council
References