Former Sikkim Chief  Minister Gurung passes away, Assam CM offers Condole 

Former Sikkim Chief Minister Shri Bhim Bahadur Gurung, who served as the state's third Chief Minister, died at the age of 93. He was Sikkim’s Chief Minister for 13 days in 1984.

Gurung passed away at 6 am on Monday morning.

Gurung was born in West Sikkim's Chakhung village on October 11, 1929. He graduated from Darjeeling's St. Roberts School. From 1953 to 1955, he worked as a teacher after graduating from the University of Calcutta. He also worked as a staff reporter for the Calcutta-based newspaper Amrita Bazar Patrika for a short time. He also edited Kanchenjunga, Sikkim's first news-based Nepali journal.

Gurung began his political career as a member of the Sikkim Rajya Congress, which was founded in December 1947 and of which he rose to the position of General Secretary in 1958. L.D. Kazi's Sikkim Rashtriya Congress elected Gurung as an Executive Councillor in 1967, and he remained in the party until 1971.

He was a staunch supporter of Sikkim's democratic movement. Gurung was elected to the 1st Vidhan Sabha in 1977 as a candidate of the Sikkim National Congress after Sikkim joined with India in 1975. As a result, in 1977, he was elected speaker of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, a position he held until 1979. Governor Homi J. H. Taleyarkhan dismissed Nar Bahadur Bhandari's government in May 1984. Gurung was sworn in as Sikkim's third Chief Minister shortly after. Gurung's administration was dissolved and the state switched to a presidential system due to a lack of support and instability.

In the year 2013–14 Gurung served as a political adviser to Sikkim's Chief Minister. In the 2014 election, he resigned from Pawan Chamling's party and shifted his support to the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. He appealed to the people of Sikkim to vote for the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, which formed the government in Sikkim, in the 2019 general elections through a press statement, and he was also present at Palzor Stadium in Gangtok for the oath taking ceremony of current Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang and Cabinet Ministers. He was not currently involved in politics.

Furthermore, Chief Minister of Assam Himanta biswa Sharma mourned the demise saying “ Saddened by the demise of former Chief Minister of Sikkim Shri Bhim Bahadur Gurung ji, who was one of the tallest leaders of the State.

My deepest condolences to the bereaved family members and friends. May his ātman attain moksha.

Om Shanti!”

Meanwhile, the government of Sikkim has declared a seven-day mourning period from March 28 to April 3.