A day after the Election Commission reduced his disqualification period to contest election, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Monday filed nomination papers to contest the October 21 byelection to the Poklok-Kamrang Assembly seat.
The EC on September 29 reduced Mr. Tamang’s disqualification period of six years for being convicted in a corruption case to one year, one month, making him eligible to contest the election.. He was convicted in a corruption case and completed his one year sentence on August 10, 2018.
Today was the last day for filing nomination and Mr. Tamang met the deadline, Jacob Khaling, spokesperson of the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) told The Hindu .
Asked about the EC decision, Mr. Tamang said it has been taken as per the Constitution and rules of the EC.
Mr. Tamang, SKM president, took oath as the Chief Minister on May 27.
The Constitutional provisions required him to become a member of the Assembly in six months.
The bypolls for three Assembly seats in Sikkim including Poklok-Kamrang are scheduled on October 21. The other two seats are Gangtok and Martam-Rumte where the BJP has fielded its candidates in alliance with the SKM.
The issue of Mr. Golay’s conviction and the six-year period of disqualification for contesting polls had dominated the Assembly poll campaign earlier this year. In the Assembly election held earlier this year, Mr. Tamang’s SKM won 17 of the 32 seats, ending the 25-year rule of Pawan Chamling and his party Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF).
In August, 10 MLAs of the SDF switched sides and joined the BJP, making it the Opposition party in the Assembly. On the alliance with the BJP, Mr. Tamang said the SKM was part of the National Democratic Alliance and both the parties will work together.
There are 18 candidates in the fray for the three seats, including Hamro Sikkim Party working president and former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia. In the 2019 Assembly polls, Mr. Bhutia got only 70 votes from Gangtok, a seat he is contesting again.
