Chamling (left) with governor Balmiki Prasad Singh (centre) at the Raj Bhawan on Tuesday. (Prabin Khaling)

Gangtok, May 19: Keeping up his word, Pawan Chamling will include seven new faces, including two women, in his new council of ministers that takes oath tomorrow at the Raj Bhavan.

Chamling, along with most of the new MLAs, called on governor Balmiki Prasad Singh and handed over his list.

The outgoing chief minister today submitted his resignation. The governor, while accepting his resignation, requested Chamling to continue in the office till the new council of ministers was sworn in.

After the meeting, Chamling told journalists that five members of his outgoing ministry, including himself, would be part of the 12-member cabinet. Chamling, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) president, was voted to power for a fourth consecutive term. The party got all 32 seats including the Sangha.

Chamling contested from two Assembly seats after dropping 20 sitting MLAs and giving tickets to 19 new faces.

Among the first-timers, Neeru Sewa, 31, will be the youngest member of the Assembly and is also tipped to be a minister. The oldest member is Phetook Tshering Bhutia at 62 years.

“We want to ensure peace, security and development for the people of the state. We will also be concentrating on job-oriented training to provide employment in all the constituencies,” Chamling said. “One of the priorities will be to develop excellence in health infrastructure and high quality of education.”

Asked about his feeling on returning to power for the fourth time running, Chamling said: “I am serious about respecting and giving justice to the mandate given to us.”