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Bhutia said people were fed up with "bad government". Residents of the Himalayan idyll of Sikkim are looking forward to a government "free from corruption and violence" in state assembly elections early next year, ace footballer-turned-politician Bhaichung Bhutia has said. In an interview with PTI, Mr Bhutia, who heads the Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP), said his party was working closely with the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) led by former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling on issues as "dilution". of Section 371F, which grants Sikkimese certain special ownership rights to land.
He said there is a strong possibility of an electoral alliance between the two parties which have also come together on another key demand - the introduction of an Inner Line Permit (ILP) which would limit visitors and settlers in the pristine state wedged between West Bengal , Nepal and China.
“HSP wants all opposition parties in Sikkim to fight together against the SKM-BJP alliance and defeat it in next year's elections. We are already working closely with the SDF and raising our voices together on current issues. Therefore, there is a possibility of an electoral alliance between HSP and SDF," the former Indian football captain told PTI in a telephone interview.
He said that the SDF supported the HSP during the latter's "Sikkim Ekta Yatra" (Rally for Sikkim Unity) and that he was reciprocated for their participation during the Sikkim Bachao Abhiyan (Campaign to Save Sikkim) of the party led by Chamling.
"The situation in Sikkim has become horrible in every way. There has been an increase in crime and drug abuse, there is massive corruption in the government and organized political violence has increased," he said, he alleged.
Bhutia claimed that the people were fed up with "bad government" and said that "therefore they longed for clean leaders... This is where we come in."
Bhaichung Bhutia, who was born into a farming family, rose to prodigy football at the age of 9 when he won a scholarship to attend the elite Tashi Namgyal academy in Gangtok.
He then played for the East Bengal club and later became an India XI player making his debut against Thailand at the age of 19. As the captain of Indian football, he recorded a string of tournament victories to become a legend across the country.
Asked why his party has not had electoral success so far, he said: “We were a very young party, only 7 or 8 months old, when we were fighting for the 2019 elections. We did not have an organizational structure ready to cast votes. . ".
He also noted that there were several last-minute defections for various reasons. “But in the last four years we have learned from our mistakes and we are much better organized for the 2024 elections,” Bhutia said.
The former footballer claimed that HSP's visibility had increased as the match raised status-related issues.
However, he refused to divulge details about how many seats the party wants to contest in the upcoming elections.
"It will be decided at the right time depending on what the people want us to do," he said.
The Hamro Sikkim party was launched in May 2018 on the anti-corruption board and has attracted many high-level leaders from other parties. However, several of them left the party before the 2019 elections, in which the HSP contested 23 seats and lost deposits in all constituencies, gaining just 0.80% of the vote.
On the hot topic of Section 371F, Mr Bhutia said: "This legislation gives us some of the most important rights and served as the basis for the merger of Sikkim with India in 1975. It is now being watered down by the SKM government in the State and the BJP at the Center through the enactment of the Finance Act 2023. Our fight to keep Section 371F intact in letter and spirit will continue.The Finance Act 2023, recently passed by parliament, extends the income tax exemption for former settlers on the plains of the state, a right previously granted only to "Sikkimes": Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalese of Sikkim descent.
Although Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, better known as PS Golay, assured the people that Section 371F would not be touched and that the easing would only be granted for income tax, opposition parties have claimed that the government is trying to to redefine the term "Sikkimais" and expressed their concern. that this could lead to an influx of people from other parts of the country into the small Himalayan state of less than 7 lakh people.
