Former Indian football captain and SDF candidate Bhaichung Bhutia was trailing SKM rival Riksal Dorjee Bhutia by 4,346, votes in the Barfung Assembly seat.
The former star footballer had set up his own party -- Hamro Sikkim Party -- in 2018, before merging it with SDF in 2023. Bhutia is currently the vice-president of the SDF.
The former footballer had fought elections twice from West Bengal as a Trinamool candidate - the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Darjeeling and the 2016 assembly elections from Siliguri. He lost both, NDTV reported.
Then he moved his electoral base to Sikkim and formed his own party. He fought the 2019 assembly elections from Gangtok and Tumen-Lingi, but tasted defeated in both his attempts. He also lost the 2019 bypoll from Gangtok