Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhatia put two of his favourite jerseys on auction in order to raise funds for his Hamro Sikkim Party and contest in the upcoming elections for the first time.
Bhaichung would be putting up for auction two jerseys, one of which is what he wore in the Match Against Poverty game organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The other jersey is the one he wore for his farewell match in 2012 against Bayern Munich. The jerseys have the signatures of football icons such as Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo.
The former footballer took to Twitter to call for support to fight the Sikkim Assembly elections. “Dear Football fans and fellow Indians, we have started a political in Sikkim. Like other states, it also has many issues like corruption, unemployment, farmers distress etc. In this fight we need your support,” he tweeted along with a link for donations.
Bhaichung, who had previously contested and lost the elections on Trinamool Congress ticket, formed the HSP last year. The party's focus was to create and implement policies for 'Happy Sikkim' in the next five years.
The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) had won the elections in 2009 and 2014. Sikkim is voting simultaneously for 32 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat on April 11.
