Prem Singh Tamang (born 5 February 1968), better known as P. S. Golay, is an

Indian politician Politics of India works within the framework of the country's Constitution. India is a parliamentary democratic secular republic in which the president of India is the head of state & first citizen of India and the prime minister of India is ...

and the current

Chief Minister of Sikkim The chief minister of Sikkim is the head of the executive branch of the Government of Sikkim, the subnational authority of the Indian state of Sikkim. The chief minister acts as the head of government in the state, chairs the Council of Ministe ...

and founding leader of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM). Before forming the party, he was a key member of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) Party.

Personal life

Tamang was born on 5 February 1968 in the

Indian Gorkha Indian Gorkhas also known as Nepali Indians, are Nepali language-speaking Indians. The modern term "Indian Gorkha" is used to differentiate the ethnic Gorkhas from Nepalis. Indian Gorkhas are citizens of India as per the gazette notificatio ...

family of Kalu Singh Tamang and Dhan Maya Tamang. He hails from Singling Busty,

West Sikkim Gyalshing District or Geyzing District is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its headquarter is Geyzing, also known as Gyalshing. The district is a favourite with trekkers due to the high elevations. Other important towns include Pelli ...

. He graduated with a degree in

Bachelors of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Darjeeling Government College Darjeeling Government College is a co-educational government-funded college established in 1948 in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. The college is in North Point, Darjeeling. Courses It offers postgraduate courses in Botany, Zoology, English a ...

in 1988. After graduation, he worked as a teacher in a state-run school. His son is politician

Aditya Tamang Aditya Tamang is an Indian politician. He was elected to the Sikkim Legislative Assembly from Soreng-Chakung in the 2019 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election as a member of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. He is the son of Prem Singh Tamang, the 6 ...

, who is also a member of

Sikkim Legislative Assembly The Sikkim Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Sikkim States and territories of India, state in north-eastern India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Gangtok, the capital of the Sikkim state. History Sikkim be ...

from Soreng-Chakung.

Political career

In 1990, he was appointed a graduate teacher under the HRD Department in the

Government of Sikkim The Government of Sikkim also known as the State Government of Sikkim is the subnational government of the Indian state of Sikkim and its 6 districts, created by the National Constitution as the legislative, executive and judicial authority to ...

and served until 1993. Due to his active interest in social work and politics, he resigned from government service and started participating in the political activities of SDF. As the SDF candidate in the Soreng-Chakung constituency,

, he was elected to the

in 1994. During his affiliations with the SDF party, he served as State Youth Convenor and Vice President.

Sikkim government career

He served in ministerial roles in the Sikkim government for three consecutive terms. From 1994 to 1999 as the Minister for Animal Husbandry, Ecclesiastical and Industry Department. From 1999 to 2004 as the Minister for Industries and Animal Husbandry. From 2004 to 2009 as the Minister for Building and Housing Department. In 2009, after winning an election in the Burtuk Constituency, he was nominated as the Chairperson of Industries Department. However, he did not serve as chairperson. After establishment of his party

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (translation: ''Sikkim Revolutionary Front'') is a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim which was the ruling party of Sikkim in 2020. P.S. Golay, a former member of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, was one of ...

, during 2014 he was elected as MLA from Burtuk Constituency.

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha party

Golay became a dissident MLA of the SDF party after the Rolu Picnic event that was conducted by employees of Sikkim on 21 December 2009. The ruling party called a show-cause notice to the government workers who attended the Rolu Picnic. Following this incident, Golay decided to found the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, which opposed the SDF, on 4 February 2013 in

Soreng Soreng is a town and headquarters of the Soreng district, in the Indian state of Sikkim. Soreng is a newly formed District. Soreng is known for its largest production of vegetables, oranges and flowers. The inhabitants ...

. On 6 September 2013 he officially resigned from all SDF party duties and became the president of the SKM party. During the election of 2014, the party gained ten of thirty-two seats in the Sikkim State Legislative Assembly under the leadership of Golay. Overall, in the 2014 election, Golay's party shared 42% of total votes in Sikkim. On 13 January 2017, he was disqualified from the

after being convicted on 28 December 2016 for misappropriating government funds while with the SDF between 1994 and 1999. In 2017, he became the main opposition leader of Sikkim, serving as a president of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. During his release after conviction on 10 August 2018 witnessed massive gathering which is counted as highest ever gathering of any political event of Sikkim.

Chief Minister of Sikkim

Golay led the

to victory in 2019 assembly elections winning 17 out of 32 seats in the legislative assembly which eventually ended the 24-year rule of the

Pawan Kumar Chamling Pawan Kumar Chamling (born 22 September 1949) is an Indian politician and the former Chief Minister of Sikkim. Chamling is the Founding President of the Sikkim Democratic Front, which governed the state for five successive terms since 1994. Ch ...

led

Sikkim Democratic Front Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Sikkim. It was the ruling party in Sikkim from 12 December 1994 to 23 May 2019. History The party was founded by Pawan Kumar Chamling in 1993. It has ruled the ...

. On 24 May 2019, SKM spokesperson Jacob Khaling said Golay will head the government in the state however, according to constitutional experts, his conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act might be a hindrance for him becoming the Chief Minister of Sikkim. On 27 May 2019, Golay, who did not contest the legislative assembly polls, was sworn in the 6th

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the state of

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

. Golay won from Poklok-Kamrang in the by-election with 10,811 votes, securing 84% of the total vote share.

Electoral records

;

election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamang, Prem Singh 1968 births Living people Chief Ministers of Sikkim Sikkim Democratic Front politicians Sikkim Krantikari Morcha politicians People from Gyalshing district Indian Gorkhas Tamang people University of North Bengal alumni Sikkim MLAs 2019–2024