Former SDF MLA Tseten Tashi Bhutia today joined the Congress and was fielded by the party from the Bara Pathing assembly seat in East Sikkim.
Bhutia, who had quit the SDF last month, resigned from the convenorship of the Sikkim Bhutia-lepcha apex committee (SIBLAC) recently to keep its apolitical character intact and join the Congress to contest the coming assembly polls.
Speaking to reporters soon after being welcomed into the Congress by PCC President Nar Bahadur Bhandari, Bhutia said his decision to join the Congress had been prompted by the party's 12-point charter of demands contained in its manifesto.
Bhutia who represented the Assam Lingzey constituency in the dissolved assembly had resigned from the SDF early last month citing loss of faith in the party leadership.