use Label and CSS for achiving the same
as
@foreach (SelectListItem item in ViewBag.LocationList)
{
<input type="checkbox" id="_@item.key">
class="check" />
<label for="_@item.key">TAG</label>
}
CSS:
input[type=checkbox] + label {
color: #ccc;
font-style: italic;
}
input[type=checkbox]:checked + label {
color: white;
font-style: normal;
background-color:red;
}