Prem Singh Tamang to be sworn in as Sikkim CM for second term today

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Sikkim Krantikari Morcha supremo Prem Singh Tamang is set to take oath as chief minister of the Himalayan state for a second straight term on Monday, officials said.

Governor Lakshman Acharya will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Tamang and his Council of Ministers during the swearing-in ceremony at Paljor stadium here, they said.

The council of ministers in Sikkim has a strength of 12 members, including the chief minister.

The swearing-in ceremony, which is likely to be attended by around 30,000 people, will commence at 4.30 pm, the officials said.

The state government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions in and around Gangtok on Monday, as part of the security measures for the event.

A half-day holiday has also been declared in all government offices on Monday.

"In view of the swearing-in ceremony of the Hon'ble Chief Minister Designate and the Council of Ministers Designate... the state government hereby declares, 10th June, 2024 (Monday) as half working day till 12 noon, for all government offices and PSUs located in and around Gangtok," Chief Secretary V B Pathak said in a circular issued by the Home Department.

Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place across Gangtok for the oath-taking programme, the officials added.

Tamang, 56, who spearheaded the SKM's landslide victory in the assembly polls and the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim, was unanimously elected the leader of the legislature party during a meeting on June 2.

The SKM won 31 of the 32 assembly seats in the polls, which took place simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections. Tamang won from both Rhenock and Soreng-Chakung constituencies that he contested.

The opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), which ruled the state for 25 years in a row till 2019, managed to win only one seat.