Former Indian Footballer Bhaichung Bhutia To Join Pawan Chamling's Party

Bhaichung Bhutia, the former Indian football captain, is set to join the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) party, the main opposition party in the state led by former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, ending a week-long speculation about his political future.

Mr Bhutia is currently serving as the working president of the Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP), the regional party that he founded in 2018. He was the party's face in the 2019 assembly elections but lost his bid to win a seat.

The 'Sikkimese Sniper' said that he is in talks with the SDF about merging HSP with the party. He has also said that he will consult with other party leaders and members before making a final decision.

"There are still some leaders to meet and the merger of two parties will not happen immediately, it will take time. I have not fixed a date to join SDF or merge yet, that will happen after a thorough discussion," Mr Bhutia said.

Mr Bhutia threw his weight behind the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) in the previous election and even met with Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay ahead of the 2019 vote. However, the former footballer has accused the SKM of rampant corruption.

"We were all in support of Parivartan's promise made by Prem Singh Golay in 2019. We had tactically fielded candidates where the SKM had weaker candidates in constituencies. We wanted the Parivartan as much as SKM did. However, in these 4 years, the Parivartan has failed under Golay and SKM. They are now full of corrupt leaders and businessmen who in the past ruined 25 years ruling SDF party," he said. 

The 32-seat Sikkim assembly is set to go to polls in 2024. The SKM, a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), currently occupies 19 of the 32 seats in the state assembly.