Footballer-turned-politician Bhaichung Bhutia has decided to merge his Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP) with the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), Pawan Chamling's party.

“We have decided to merge the HSP with the SDF. Discussions are in progress and it will happen in due course,” Bhaichung said on Wednesday.

In 2018, Bhaichung floated the HSP. In 2019, his party fielded 22 candidates in the Assembly polls to 32 seats, but none could win.

The SDF, headed by Chamling — who was the chief minister for over 24 years — is still a prominent political force in Sikkim.

Bhaichung, who had backed the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) when came to power in 2019 by defeating the SDF, was now critical of both the SKM and chief minister P.S. Tamang (Golay).

“We wanted a change in the state.... However, in the past four years, the chief minister (Tamang) and his party failed to meet the aspirations of the common people,” Bhaichung said.

He was also appreciative of Chamling, saying that when the SKM was in the Opposition, they had raised charges of corruption against Chamling but in these four years of being in power could prove nothing against him.

“It will be interesting to see how this new political equation works, especially as the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls are due next year,” said a political veteran of the state.

Sikkim has one Lok Sabha seat, but is politically important because of its location on the India-China border.

Bhaichung didn’t specify when the merger would take place. D. Rai, a former Sikkim MP and SDF senior vice-president, confirmed Bhaichung would join the SDF on September 19.