Baichung all set to float new political outfit in Sikkim

Amitava Banerjee | MP| 25 April 2018 | Darjeeling: Laying speculations to rest, ace Indian footballer Baichung Bhutia is all set to float a new political outfit in Sikkim soon. He will be announcing his future plans for Sikkim from Delhi on Thursday.

"I will be live from Press Club of India tomorrow to announce our plans for Sikkim…The beautiful state of Sikkim is ready for change," posted Bhutia on a social networking site, appealing one and all to join him at Delhi on April 26 at 3 pm.

When questioned on whether he will be floating a new political outfit from Delhi on Thursday, Bhutia, talking to Millennium Post over phone, stated: "We will be launching the party in the next one to two weeks from Sikkim. We will, however, announce our future plans from Delhi on Thursday."

Two years after having quit professional football, Baichung had joined the All India Trinamool Congress in Bengal in 2013, ushered in by party chief Mamata Banerjee. However, it was rough sailing for Baichung.

The footballer contested elections twice as a TMC candidate in Bengal and was defeated both the times. Finally on February 26, this year, Baichung resigned from TMC and returned to Sikkim.

Speculations were rife that he would join either the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front or BJP, having been wooed by both the outfits.

"Politics is also about giving back to the place I was born in and where my family lives. I could never do so in Bengal. I could not even give adequate time. I always had the outsider tag in Bengal and I do not blame them. I too would have felt the same if I was in their shoes," stated Baichung.

The footballer feels that it will be a much smoother sailing for him on his home turf. "I am from Sikkim. I have a commitment towards Sikkim," stated Baichung.