Bhaichung Bhutia’s Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP) and Sikkim Sangram Parishad have held initial talks to explore possibilities of working together for “clean politics and politicians.”

Football icon Bhaichung, who launched his party in 2018, said on Saturday that he held talks with Primula Bhandari, the daughter of parishad’s founding president and former chief minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari, who died in 2017.

Bhaichung said they discussed the “deteriorating politics of Sikkim” since the people of Sikkim were in favour of clean politics and politicians.

“We felt that Hamro Sikkim and Sikkim Sangram Parishad, which has the legacy of Late Shri NB Bhandari, should work together for the betterment of Sikkim,” he said on his Facebook page while sharing a picture of him with Primula, who is not actively involved in politics and generally keeps a low profile.

Primula did not take calls from this paper. The Parishad, now headed by her mother Dil Kumari Bhandari, had supported the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha in the 2014 and 2019 Assembly elections.

Bhaichung said senior leaders of both parties would soon meet to carry forward talks for the larger good of Sikkim.

“Hamro Sikkim is a party for the youth and always fought for clean and new politics. Shri Bhandari never compromised on Sikkim issues and welfare of the Sikkimese people,” he added.

Bhandari was the chief minister for three terms between 1979 and 1994 before being ousted by friend-turned-foe Pawan Chamling in 1994. He was the main opposition figure for the major part of the 25-year-long rule of Sikkim Democratic Front under Chamling, who, in turn, was defeated by his friend-turned-foe P.S. Tamang (Golay) in 2019.