Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling became longest serving Chief Minister of India

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling on 12 December 2014 became longest serving Chief Minister of India. He completed his 20 years in the office on 12 December 2014. He has been chief minister of Sikkim since 12 December 1994.

Earlier, the longest serving CM was late Communist leader Jyoti Basu who was chief minister of West Bengal.

Chamling will create an Indian political history record of being 25 years in the office should he complete his present term, his fifth. He has led his Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) party to a record mandate for the fifth time in a row in the assembly elections held in May 2014.

The ruling SDF has won 22 out of a total 32 seats on the plank of promoting peace, security and development. The party got majority 55 per cent vote share in multi corned contest in the state.

He was elected as the president of Yangang Gram Panchayat in 1982. In 1985, he was elected to the Sikkim Legislative Assembly for the first time. After being elected for the second time from Damthang constituency, he became the Minister for Industries, Information and Public Relations from 1989 to 1992 in the Nar Bahadur Bhandari cabinet.

After a series of major political upheavals in Sikkim, Chamling formed the Sikkim Democratic Front in 1993. The Sikkim Democratic Front won the 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009 State Assembly elections.

Chamling has launched various flagship programme like Rural Housing Mission to make Sikkim the first Kutcha House-Free State in the country by 2013. So far, 6000 Pakka houses for poor Sikkimese families have been constructed. The objective of the mission is to provide permanent and a safe roof over every family in Sikkim.