Gangtok: Ganesh Rai, the Rebel Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) leader, resigned from the party and announced that he would be launching a new political party.
Ganesh Rai, who was the vice president of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) South District Committee, was accompanied by senior SDF leaders and former ministers, Dawcho Lepcha and Sonam Gyatso Lepcha and 42 others. All submitted their resignations at the SDF head office on Monday.
“The reason for leaving SDF was to bring about a transformation in the political scenario of the state”, Rai was heard saying to the reporters.
He said that the SDF leadership had not enacted on their voice of bringing positive changes and reforms in the party with changing times and so it is best to leave SDF and form a new party. He said that the date for the launch of the new party would be disclosed very soon.
Rai added that his new party would offer solutions to prevailing issues, along with highlighting the issues related to the common Sikkimese people. He further said that the new party will not be run by a single entity instead it will be a collective decision of the party and the people on how to run it.
Sources in the Sikkim Democratic Front head office confirmed that Ganesh Rai, Dawcho Lepcha and Sonam Gyatso Lepcha have submitted their resignations to the party high command.
The SDF is led by former chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and is the main opposition party in the state. It was the ruling party in the state from December 1994 to May 2019.
