SKM rounds up campaign with mega meet in Rangpo

BHANDARI ENDORSES SKM’S BID TO FORM NEXT GOVT IN SIKKIM

AMEET OBEROI

RANGPO, 09 Apr: Sikkim Krantikari Morcha convened its final campaign meeting [as a major meet since campaigning on a smaller scale will continue till 5 p.m. on Thursday] for the upcoming elections at Rangpo today. The meet, pegged by the party as a “Maha Jansabha”, was well-attended and apart from SKM’s star campaigner, the party president PS Tamang [Golay], also had Sikkim Sangram Parishad president Nar Bahadur Bhandari addressing the meet and announcing support for the SKM.

This is the first election in Sikkim since 1979 in which Mr. Bhandari is not contesting. What is more, even his party does not feature in the elections this time, save as an SKM backer. Today’s speech at Rangpo was Mr. Bhandari’s only election campaign address of Elections 2014.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Tamang stated, “This is a very important and historic meeting of the party as today the ex-CM and the SSP party president NB Bhandari is also present and people need to listen to what he has to say. Whenever Sikkim has needed him [Bhandari], he has come forward to save Sikkim and the people from the autocratic rule of the present government”.

The SKM president said that the SSP did not field any candidates this elections and has extended full support to the SKM as they too want a change in the state.

Mr. Tamang, in his address, went over the salient features of the SKM manifesto, covering issues like IT exemption for old settlers, regularisation of ad-hoc employees on their existing posts, Chhat Puja to be declared a government holiday, etc.

The SSP president, Mr Bhandari, in his address, said, “Today the people are witnessing a historic moment and nothing like this has happened before. This meeting is being held under two party flags, one [SKM] which wants to bring a change and the other [SSP] which is providing its full support to bring about that change, and thus I am honoured to address the people under these two flags”.

Urging people to vote for SKM, Mr Bhandari said that the SSP party did not field candidates to avoid the division of votes and ensure SKM’s victory.

Mr. Bhandari then tore into the past twenty years of SDF government in Sikkim and expectedly had nothing nice to share in his appraisal.

Also on the day, some SDF leaders from West Sikkim and their supporters joined the SKM.