Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) Sworn in as Sikkim Chief Minister for Second Consecutive Term

Prem Singh Tamang, popularly known as Golay, took oath as the Chief Minister of Sikkim for the second consecutive term on Monday in Gangtok. The oath was administered by Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at a ceremony held at the packed Paljor Stadium in the state capital.

Golay’s 12-member cabinet also took the oath, with only four ministers from the previous government being retained. “Seven new ministers have been inducted into the new government while five ministers from the previous cabinet have been dropped,” said a source close to the developments.

Community-based politics is a strong force in Sikkim, and observers noted that Golay attempted to balance representatives of the Gorkha, Lepcha, and Bhutia communities in his cabinet. However, not all sections could be included.

Golay awarded ministerial berths to three “giant slayers” from this year’s Assembly elections. They include Raju Basnet, a former secretary in the Sikkim government, and Bhoj Raj Rai, who defeated five-time Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling from Namcheybung and Poklok-Kamrang constituencies, respectively. Samdup Lepcha, MLA from Lachen-Mangan constituency who defeated another Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) heavyweight Hishey Lachungpa, was also included in the ministry.

However, the Golay government faced criticism for failing to include a single woman in the cabinet. “Four women candidates, including the wife of the Chief Minister, Krishna Kumari Rai, had won on SKM tickets. It was expected that one of them would get a ministerial berth,” said an observer.

During the election campaign, the Golay-led SKM had attacked Chamling’s SDF for failing to provide a ticket to even a single woman candidate. With the SKM winning 31 out of 32 seats this time, the process of nominating ministers was not as straightforward as in the 2019 election when the SKM won 17 seats.

The speaker and deputy speaker for the Assembly are yet to be elected, and many are hopeful that a woman might be elected by the party to one of these posts.

Speaking to the media after the ceremony, Golay emphasized the focus on BIPASA (Bijli or electricity, Pani or water, and Sadak or road) for his second term. “During our previous tenure, we focused on health and education and will continue to do so this term too,” said Golay, adding that they had won this election based on the development they had undertaken during their earlier tenure.