Sikkim party SHRP likely to merge with Sikkim Congress

GANGTOK, 29 JULY: Setting aside ideological differences, the Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad Party, a Sikkim-based regional outfit is likely to merge into the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Party. The state Congress sources informed that the SHRP had already submitted a memorandum to the Congress High Command over the merger proposal and it was under consideration. The merger is likely to take place in the presence of the AICC member in charge of Sikkim Mr Luizinho Faleiro who is camping now in Gangtok. When asked to comment on the matter, the state Congress president Mr Nar Bahadur Bhandari said that the issue lay with the SHRP leadership. The Congress and the SHRP were mauled at the hands of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front in the last Parliamentary elections. Viewed against this backdrop, the merger move might be construed as an attempt by the Opposition to put forward a challenge to the ruling party. Earlier in February 2009, three national parties, namely the Congress, BJP and CPI (M) and two regional parties, Sikkim Gorkha Prajatantrik Party and the SHRP formed the United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance. But it failed to make any dent into the SDF's support base in the state as was evident from the election outcome