Bhutia party to contest all seats for `New Sikkim'

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, 4 March 2019, Gangtok: The Hamro Sikkim Party on Sunday said it would field candidates in all 32 Assembly seats and the lone Lok Sabha constituency in the state and urged people to vote for a "New Sikkim".

Bhaichung Bhutia, the working president of the HSP, said his party would fight the elections solely on the issue of development and to discard divisive politics.

"Hamro Sikkim Party will offer a real political alternative to the people of Sikkim and bring in new politics of conviction and public service," the party said in a release issued at a press conference that was addressed by top leaders, including Bhutia, here.

The party has claimed its brand of clean politics enjoys the spontaneous and overwhelming support of the people as they are fed up with the `autocratic' government of the Sikkim Democratic Front and the "lumpen and mindless" opposition being offered by the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha.

Bhaichung Bhutia "I will to appeal to the people of Sikkim to vote for change, vote for New Sikkim, vote for Hamro Sikkim," said Bhutia. The ex-footballer said the HSP would have no alliance with national parties, but was open to the idea of a tie-up with regional forces. "We are in talks with regional parties, and once we reach an agreement on alliance, we will make it public," he said. The HSP had held preliminary talks on a possible alliance with both the BJP and the SKM, but that clearly appears to have made no headway. Bhutia accused the SKM of not following up on the preliminary talks. He made no mention of the BJP, but the HSP had asked the party to severe links with the SDF if it was serious about having an alliance. The SDF is part of both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and North East Democratic Alliance.