Bhaichung Bhutia joins hands with Pawan Chamling, merges HSP with SDF

SUJAL PRADHAN, EOI, GANGTOK, NOVEMBER 23, 2023 : Ace footballer Bhaichung Bhutia on Thursday joined the Sikkim Democratic Front, headed by former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling. 

Bhutia also merged the Hamro Sikkim Party, the outfit he had formed ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, with the SDF at a rally in Ravangla in south Sikkim. 

The assembly polls in Sikkim, besides the parliamentary elections, are due next year. Chamling welcomed Bhutia into his party by presenting him a ‘Khada', a traditional scarf used in Tibetan Buddhism, and an SDF flag while hundreds of the party workers cheered the former captain of the Indian football team. 

Bhutia heaped praise on Chamling, saying Sikkim needs an experienced leader like him to navigate the state to the path of development and prosperity. "I'm very, very happy. I've been able to join Sikkim Democratic Front in my own hometown,” he told reporters.. "We will ensure that the five-term chief minister returns to power after the 2024 assembly elections," he said. 

“We've seen what SDF has accomplished in four and a half years," he said. "People have realized that we've made a big mistake. That's why SDF 2.0 is crucial in 2024 to come back," Bhutia stated. 

Chamling, the longest-serving chief minister in India, was at the helm in Sikkim between 1994 and 2019. He lost to Sikkim Krantikari Morcha in 2019. 

The footballer-turned-politician Bhaichung Bhutia along with his party Hamro Sikkim also joined the 'Save Sikkim Mission,’ a political campaign of SDF leader Pawan Chamling. During the event, Bhaichung Bhutia held the SDF flag, signifying the merger of his HSP with the SDF.