Pawan Kumar Chamling, the longest-serving chief minister of India, who lost power after heading Sikkim for 24 years in 2019, will be the chief ministerial candidate of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) in the 2024 Assembly elections.
“The party wants me to take charge of the situation. It wants me to be the chief ministerial candidate,” Chamling told The Telegraph in Darjeeling on Sunday.
The former Sikkim chief minister, who had put the Himalayan state on the world map after it was declared the first organic state in the country, said: “We will come out in a new avatar. Apart from a few people, most of the faces (candidates) will be fresh. We will have a new team, a new programme and a new vision. We will come up with a people-centric programme.”
Chamling’s announcement is expected to raise the political temperature in Sikkim where the 73-year-old is still a formidable political force.
In 2019, although his rivals Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won the election bagging 17 of the 32 seats, Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front had the larger share of votes — 48.98 per cent against the SKM’s 47.96 per cent.
The SDF had won 15 seats but all MLAs except Chamling switched over either to the BJP or the SKM.
Asked if he had any message for his former MLAs, Chamling smiled: “I have nothing to tell them. I was alone (the only MLA) when I decided to float a new party (in 1993) and I am alone now.” Chamling had rebelled against the then chief minister, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, to float his own party.
He, however, acknowledged that he had fielded wrong candidates in at least 10 seats during the last elections.
“I admit I fielded wrong candidates in at least 10 seats. I have always been inclusive in politics and I fielded wrong candidates while trying to be inclusive,” said Chamling.
Some sections in Sikkim have questioned Chamling’s age and said that parties who have lost power have not made a comeback in the region.
“People who have nothing to show in terms of achievement are creating these false narratives. Politics is science, it is about vision. It is the people who will give the mandate,” said Chamling, adding that his focus had always been on a “sustainable development model.”
The former Sikkim chief minister launched a vitriolic attack on the present-day state government on a range of issues ranging from economic health to policy decisions.
“The economic health of Sikkim is among the worst in the country at the moment with huge debts. Their policy decisions on hydro have plugged revenue-generating sources. They have no clear stand on core issues like reservation (for Limbu/ Tamang) category,” said Chamling.
The demand for the reservation of seats in the Assembly for Limbu and Tamang communities has been a burning topic in the state for long.
Chamling said that his formula to solve this issue had reached the Prime Minister’s desk in 2018.
The former chief minister wants the Assembly seats to be increased from 32 to 40 and wants 12 seats reserved for the Bhutia/Lepcha community, two for SC, five for LT, leaving 20 seats for general candidates and one for Sangha.
Chamling also brushed aside the allegations that he was communal and added that these were false narratives of “irresponsible politicians”.
