In a massive victory, Prem Singh Tamang-led Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) on Sunday regained the power by winning the state assembly elections. The party won 31 of the 32 assembly seats.
The SKM has bagged 58.38 per cent of the votes polled.
Sikkim chief minister and SKM president Prem Singh Tamang has won from two seats — Rhenock and Soreng-Chakung — by thumping margins.
ALSO READ: PM Modi thanks Arunachal or choosing BJP, congratulates SKM in Sikkim
Prem Singh Tamang profile
Prem Singh Tamang, the 56-year old is regarded as an able organiser, administrator and fiery politician. He was born on February 5, 1968 to Kalu Singh Tamang and Dhan Maya Tamang.
After completing his graduation from a college in Darjeeling, West Bengal, he became a government school teacher in 1990. Three years later, Tamang quit his job. In 1994, he co-founded the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF).
He remained associated with the SDF for nearly 20 years, of which he was a minister for 15 years.
ALSO READ: Sikkim CM Tamang wins Rhenock seat, SKM bags 11 constituencies
After quitting the SDF, Tamang formed his own party — Sikkim Krantikari Morcha in 2013.
In its first assembly elections in 2014, the SKM had won 10 seats.
The SKM chief had also served a one-year prison term after being convicted in a corruption case. Following the conviction, he was disqualified from the Sikkim Legislative Assembly as an MLA from Upper Burtuk seat. He was released from the jail in 2017.
In the next assembly elections in 2019, Tamang’s party unseated SDF chief Pawan Kumar Chamling from power by winning 17 seats.
On May 27, 2019, Prem Singh Tamang became the chief minister of Sikkim.
Five months later, Tamang won a by-election from Poklok-Kamrang assembly seat, vacated by Chamling.
Tamang has also expressed his wish before the electorate to not remain in public life after serving two terms as the chief minister and to hand over the reins of the party to the next line of leadership.
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Published: 02 Jun 2024, 08:05 PM IST