Former Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia on Thursday floated his own political party, Hamro Sikkim, in New Delhi, reported PTI. This comes exactly two months after he resigned from the Trinamool Congress. Earlier, there was speculation that he might join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bhutia said that with Hamrao Sikkim, he will return to his roots. “My family, my house, all are in Sikkim,” he said. “I am the son of the soil... I think I can contribute much more here.”
The former footballer rued that he always “felt like an outsider” even after being part of West Bengal politics and playing for top clubs for years. “I was dropped from the top in the TMC,” said Bhutia. “Let’s not forget that when I contested from Siliguri, there was an outsider tag on me as well… I think it was unfair on my part to be in a party I am not committed to.”
Bhutia joined the TMC in 2013. He lost the Darjeeling seat to BJP’s SS Ahluwalia during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The footballer also contested the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections from Siliguri but lost to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Asok Bhattacharya. Differences between Bhutia and the party cropped up during the unrest in Darjeeling when he supported the demand for a separate Gorkhaland.
Bhutia said his Hamro Sikkim party would try to rise above the petty politics of caste and religion, reported The Indian Express. He aims to make the state graft-free and end the 24-year rule of the Sikkim Democratic Front.
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