Prem Singh Tamang Takes Oath as Sikkim Chief Minister for Second Term

Prem Singh Tamang, the supremo of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Sikkim for a second consecutive term on Monday. The oath-taking ceremony, held at Paljor Stadium, was presided over by Sikkim Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, who administered the oath of office and secrecy to Tamang and his Council of Ministers.

The SKM secured a sweeping victory in the recent assembly polls, winning 31 out of 32 seats. The opposition, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), managed to secure only one seat. This decisive win marks the third time Sikkim has witnessed a landslide victory, with similar outcomes previously achieved by the Sikkim Sangram Parishad and the SDF in 1989 and 2009 respectively.

Tamang, who won from the Rhenock Assembly seat by defeating SDF’s Som Nath Poudyal by over 7,396 votes, described the victory as a ‘record’ and praised the peaceful nature of the elections. “In 5 years, we will fulfil all the announcements that we made at the time of the elections. I would like to thank all my workers, they worked hard. I would also like to thank the public. This is the most peaceful election of Sikkim, this is a record,” he said.

The polling for the 32 assembly seats in Sikkim was conducted on April 19, coinciding with the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

In the previous 2019 assembly elections, the SKM won 17 seats while the SDF secured 15. The SKM had contested its first assembly elections in 2014, winning 10 seats. Notably, in 2019, the SKM initially allied with the BJP-led NDA before deciding to contest the elections independently.

In a related development, Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister of India for his third consecutive term on Sunday at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The ceremony was attended by leaders from India’s neighboring countries and the Indian Ocean region. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Modi and his team of ministers. PM Modi is now the second Indian leader to secure a third term, following founding Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.