Spread the love

By Our Reporter

Many may not have forgotten the good relations UML chairman KP Sharma Oli and former President Bidya Devi Bhandari had five years ago. As the President, Bhandari blindly endorsed all decisions of Prime Minister KP Oli no matter whether they were against the constitution. She dissolved the House of Representatives twice in December 2020 and May 2021, even though the Supreme Court reinstated the House dissolved in December 2020, stating that it was against the constitution. But she dared to dissolve the House again on the midnight of May 21, 2021. All these she did because she had a good rapport with Oli.

But five years after she endorsed each unconstitutional move of Oli, the two have now turned foes, with Oli resorting to every measure to prevent Bhandari, the widow of late Madan Bhandari, who is the ideal leader of today’s UML, from rejoining the party.

Oli and his coterie have given a single reason for blocking Bhandari’s entry into party politics—a person who has held the post of President should not return to party politics, as it would send a bad message. But in reality, Oli is applying all his energy to put Bhandari away from the party because he fears losing power in the party with Bhandari’s entry. 

Right from the day, the former President announced her entry in party politics with renewal of party membership while addressing a programme organised by Madan Bhandari Foundation on the occasion of late Bhandary’s 75th birth anniversary on June 28, 2025, Oli centred his mind to stop Bhandari’s retrun to party politics.

He called a series of meetings of UML over the weeks, only to prevent her entry. He managed to succeed in his mission with majority in party secretariat meeting followed by politburo and central committee meetings. Through these meetings, Oli and his coterie in the party decided that the former president’s party membership was on hold, and she could not return to party politics.

But even after Oli closed all doors for her return, Bhandari did not budge, and she challenged the decision in a press meet organised in Kathmandu on July 21.

Addressing the press meet in the capacity of former vice chair of the UML, Bhandari said that there is nothing that prevents her from joining a political party and becoming active in politics.

In her first press conference organised after the two-day central committee meeting of the ruling CPN-UML held on July 21 and 22 decided not to allow her to return to active party politics, the former President said that Nepal’s Constitution guarantees the right of an individual to have a faith in a political ideology, and the right to be involved in a political party as fundamental rights.

She said, “Nowhere in the Constitution — its articles, spirit or intention — is there anything that stops me from joining a political party and becoming active in politics.”

She also expressed her unhappiness about the decision of the CPN-UML to prevent her from returning to party politics.

The decisions made in a hasty and immature way, ignoring Nepal’s Constitution, laws, and democratic values have deeply saddened me, she said.

 “Such decisions will only damage the party’s reputation and credibility. While decisions taken emotionally or in a rush might create temporary confusion, the truth cannot be hidden forever. The idea of People’s Multiparty Democracy, on which the party was founded, calls for decisions to be made thoughtfully and through open discussion. Any decision made against the scientific principle of democratic centralism cannot be considered legitimate or mature,” Bhandari said.

“By the time I became President, I had already been a party member for 35 years. It has now been 45 years. Despite my strong faith in the party and my commitment to its values, ideology and policies, it is completely unjust to bar me from being a member,” she said.

Still, Oli did not stop continuing other measures to block her entry. He had his party send an Inter Party Direction to all sub-ordinate party committees not to discuss the issue of Bhandari. He also undermined her contribution in Nepal’s communist movement, stating that what Bhandari did during the Panchayat rule was only to join the student wing of the CPN-ML (which later became CPN-UML).

 All these exercises of Oli have proved that Oli is scared of Bhandari’s entry in party politics. In the present-day UML, no leader dares to challenge Oli as those who challenged him in the past had already been ousted. But it was not that easy to oust Bhandari because of the legacy of Madan Bhandari. That’s why he recently admitted that he prevented her entry in the party as she targeted the post of party chair. When Oli is trying to become party chair for the third time by amending the provisions of the age limit of 70 years and the two-term party chairman, he does not want anyone to challenge him.

However, the activities adopted to prevent the former president from joining the UML has shaken the UML badly. The party leaders and cadres have been divided between Oli and Bhandari. This division could affect the 2084 elections because Bhandari could use her power against the UML leaders who opposed her move. If the present equation continues, many of the UML leaders, including general secretary Shankar Pokharel, can suffer defeat in the general elections.