Sikkim: Among 11 councils of ministers, four retained; 7 new leaders take oath

Gangtok (Sikkim) [India], June 10 : Among the newly formed council of ministers of Sikkim, four leaders have retained their positions while seven new were administered the oath during the swearing-in ceremony at Paljor Stadium.
Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Sikkim for the second term on Monday at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok. The Governor of Sikkim Lakshman Prasad Acharya administered the oath to the Chief Minister designate and 11 council of ministers.
Among the 11 councils of ministers, four former ministers from 2019-24 retained their ministerial positions.
Arun Upreti who served both as a Minister and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly took oath as Minister again. Sikkim Krantikari Morcha party's general secretary Upreti, had contested from Arithang Constituency winning the seat by a margin of 2,729 votes.
Sonam Lama, representing the non-territorial religious Sangha assembly constituency also was retained as Minister, having previously served as Ecclesiastical and Rural Development Minister. He had won with a margin of 865 votes.
Samdup Lepcha from the northernmost Lachen-Mangan constituency also was retained as Minister, having previously served as Road and Bridges Minister among other government departments. Lepcha was at the focal point of the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood in Lhonak Lake and the subsequent demolition of the Teesta Stage 3 dam in Chungthang. Lepcha won from the constituency with a vote margin of 851 votes.
Bhim Hang Limboo from Yangthang constituency also retained the ministerial post with a winning margin of 2,556 votes.
Among the new minister designates include three former legislators Gay Tshering Dhungel from the Upper Tadong constituency who defected from the Sikkim Democratic Front party in 2019. A retired bureaucrat, Dhungel secured victory with a margin of 4048 votes, this time on the SKM ticket.
Pintso Namgyal Lepcha who joined SKM, before the 2024 elections, won from the Dzongu constituency with a 5007 vote margin. He won in 2019 with SDF but later defected to Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bhoj Raj Rai, the former legislator from 2004-09 under the SDF regime, makes a triumphant comeback toppling Pawan Kumar Chamling from his stronghold Poklok Kamrang constituency winning by a 3063 vote margin for SKM.
Among another ministerial debutant Raju Basnet, a recently retired bureaucrat also defeated Chamling from the Namcheybong constituency with a vote margin of 2256 vote margin also secured a ministerial berth.
Nar Bahadur Dahal from Singtam Khamdong constituency also secured the minister post having defeated Mani Kumar Sharma, the former health Minister with SKM. He won with a vote margin of 1739.
Two other ministers include Tshering Thendup Bhutia from Yuksom Tashiding who won by 4812 votes and Puran Kumar Gurung winner from Chujachen constituency by 3334 votes.
PS Golay had contested from the Soreng-Chakung and Rhenock Constituency winning both seats by a margin of more than 7,000 votes.
This is the third time, Sikkim has witnessed a landslide victory of a political party as similar results were drawn by Sikkim Sangram Parishad and SDF in 1989 and 2009 respectively.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the SKM won 17 seats, while the SDF secured 15 seats out of the 32 seats. SKM won 10 seats in 2014 as it faced its first assembly elections.
Interestingly, SKM had in 2019 joined hands with the BJP-led NDA ahead of the assembly elections but ultimately severed ties and fought the 2019 assembly polls alone.