No Opposition in state, but Sikkim CM Tamang faces environmental challenges

CM Prem Singh Tamang leads a state without Opposition in the Assembly, but faces dual challenges of ecological crises and sustainable development

After winning both Assembly by-elections uncontested in October, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, known as ‘Golay’, retains the distinction of leading the only state in India with no Opposition in the Assembly. However, politics is the least of his concerns.

 

In the Assembly elections held in May (alongside the Lok Sabha polls), Golay’s Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won 31 of the 32 seats. In July, the sole Opposition MLA from the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), Tenzing Norbu Lamtha, crossed over to the SKM. 

Golay and his wife, Krishna Kumari Rai, had each contested two seats in May. They vacated