Sikkim chief minister P.S. Tamang (Golay) has held an unprecedented marathon 16-hour session of the state government’s “Sarkar Ghar Dailoma (Government on Doorstep)” programme, meeting scores of people of Chujachen Assembly constituency to address their myriad problems.

The session was held at the community hall in Rongli Bazar, Pakyong district, from 10am on Thursday to 2am on Friday.

Taking a leaf out of a similar programme started by the Trinamul Congress government in Bengal before last year’s Assembly elections, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) government had launched its initiative earlier in the year and it has so far covered four out of 32 Assembly constituencies, including Chujachen.

However, unlike in Bengal, the Sikkim chief minister himself is personally attending every programme accompanied by ministers, senior government officials and local SKM leaders. Golay has promised to cover all the constituencies in the coming weeks and months. His next ports of call are Rhenock on January 8 and Gnathang-Machong on January 12, both in Pakyong district.

The queue of people who arrived to meet chief minister. The Telegraph

Asked how he managed to conduct such marathon meetings, Golay told reporters that he was willing to work not just for 15-16 hours, but for 24 hours in order to serve the people of the state. “People’s blessings provide me with energy. I use that energy to carry out my work,” he said.

The chief minister said the common problems the people approached him with were jobs and illness. “I met each and every person who had come here. I am very happy even though it is 2am now,” said the 54-year-old Golay, showing no signs of fatigue.

People waited for hours together to meet the chief minister, and most said their wait was worth the effort. “I have been here since six in the morning. A lot of people had come along with me to meet CM Sir. They have all left feeling very happy after getting their jobs done. That is good enough for me,” said Sonam Chikki Bhutia, president of Lingtam-Phadamchen gram panchayat unit.

Another person said he had met the chief minister since his wife had recently undergone a kidney operation. “I am very happy. Sikkim will never get a chief minister like him,” he said.

The SKM government’s intensified contact programme is being seen as a counter to the opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF)’s “Save Sikkim” campaign led by ex-chief minister Pawan Chamling in the run-up to the Assembly elections due in the middle of 2024.

“The SDF’s campaign has been getting a good response, going by huge turnouts witnessed across the state, and the SKM cannot afford to give a head start to its rival ahead of the 2024 polls,” said an observer.