At a time when UML leaders including Vice Presidents Bishnu Poudel, Gokarna Bista, and Deputy Secretary General Yogesh Bhattarai have been saying that the leadership should be reorganized due to the election results, Oli has started strengthening himself by making Bhandari active.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli took out a paper from his pocket at the secretariat meeting on Monday and proposed, ‘Former President Bidya Bhandari has applied for membership. Let us decide on this.’ The meeting’s proposals prepared by General Secretary Shankar Pokharel did not include the issue of renewing Bhandari’s membership. After the chairman directly proposed, the meeting decided to grant Bhandari party membership.
With this decision, Bhandari has become legally active in UML politics. Why did Oli add Bhandari to active politics when there were demands for a reorganization of the leadership in UML? Whereas when Bhandari tried to join UML last July, Oli had put her membership on ‘pending’.
A UML leader said that after Oli was elected president for a third term at the 11th general convention of UML held in the first week of December 2009, he had reached the stage of removing Bhandari from the party. The Central Committee meeting in Shrawan last year had decided to keep Bhandari's membership 'pending' as it was considered that if Bhandari's membership was renewed, he would challenge himself as the president.
General Secretary Shankar Pokharel had also told his close leaders that it would be appropriate for Oli to hand over the leadership in a 'respectful' manner. UML leaders claim that after Pokharel said this about his intention to take over the party leadership, Oli has reached the conclusion that he will make former President Bhandari active.
The equation has changed in UML with the renewal of Bhandari's membership
The equation has changed in UML with the renewal of Bhandari's membership. After Oli took the policy of promoting Bhandari in the party, the issue of leadership reorganization has taken another form.
The leaders who have been raising the voice for leadership reorganization, including Vice President duo Bishnu Poudel, Gokarna Bista, Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai, leader Karna Thapa, etc., have faced some difficulties. A leader close to Oli said that Oli is trying to move the party leadership forward by giving Bhandari to the second generation and not to the second generation. ‘The issue of leadership reorganization was raised when President Oli was under detention and undergoing treatment after a stone surgery. The President took it seriously and has taken a policy of promoting Vidya Bhandari,’ the leader said. ‘If the leadership is restructured, the party leadership will go to Vidya Bhandari.’
There has been a demand within the party to restructure the policy and leadership, giving responsibility for the results of the 21 Falgun election. After the party started looking for an alternative to Oli, the leaders understand that he tried to win over former President Bhandari’s team to his side.
Former Vice President Yubaraj Gyawali said that it was a loss to create a big controversy in the party by suspending Vidya Bhandari’s membership. ‘Why was it suspended when the former President said he would return to the party and work? Why was he dismissed now?’ he asked.
He said that since the membership was renewed, Bhandari will now be active in the responsibilities assigned by the party. ‘As a former president, you can play a role in advancing the left movement,’ he said.
Secretary Bhanubhakta Dhakal said that the membership was kept pending last year because it would be appropriate for the former president to sit in a respected position instead of active politics. ‘The former president wanted to become a member because he wanted to work in the party now and became a member,’ he said. ‘Last year, it was decided to keep the membership pending because it would be appropriate for him to stay above party politics.’ After receiving the membership, Vidya Bhandari said that she would continue with the assigned responsibilities as she has the right to be active in the party.
UML had concluded that former President Bhandari’s entry into politics would be a loss of dignity. However, it has reversed that by renewing her membership. UML former central member Ushakiran Timsena said that it was not logical for the former president to enter active politics. ‘It is not logical to try to bring the former president into the party leadership when there is a demand for leadership from the youth,’ she said.
Samik Badal, a central member who is running the UML revival campaign, said that Bhandari will play a role for left unity and said that a youth-friendly policy should be made. 'The former president can have a role in making a policy to bring youth into leadership,' he said.
Former presidents being active in politics is not suitable for democracy: Professor Baral
Former presidents becoming active in politics will weaken the supreme institution, said Bhimnath Baral, a professor of political science at Prithvi Narayan Campus Pokhara. 'We have not been able to establish a system in the country. A person who has become the head of state should occupy a high position. The dignity of the presidential institution should be maintained,' he said, 'Former presidents being active in politics is not suitable for democracy. In other countries, it is customary to give opportunities to new and young people. But in our country, it is not good for former presidents and vice presidents to come back into politics and take over from others.' In this way, we could not strengthen our supreme institution.'
After the UML shrank to a small size in the February 21 House of Representatives elections, Bhandari and Oli began to mend the strained relationship. On April 28, while she was recovering from a stone surgery, she had reached her residence in Gundu to meet Oli.
When UML Vice Presidents Bishnu Poudel, Gokarna Bista, Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai and other leaders were saying that the leadership should be restructured due to the election results, Oli started strengthening himself by making Bhandari active.
Bhandari had announced that she would join active politics last year, stating that she had been associated with UML for 45 years. Oli had suspended her membership after she said that she was active in UML to take over the party leadership. Former senior vice presidents Ishwor Pokharel, vice president Surendra Pandey, Yubaraj Gyawali, Ashtalakshmi Shakya and other leaders had expressed their disagreement with Bhandari's suspension.
The Central Committee held on 5 and 6 Shrawan and kept Bhandari's membership 'pending'. So much so that Oli, who is Bhandari's patron, even called the Madan Bhandari Foundation an anti-party forum.
At that time, the Central Committee had concluded that former President Bhandari should not enter active politics. It had decided that the decision to return to party politics was not in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution as the role of the President is highly respected, dignified and of historical importance and is completely free from party affiliation. The controversy has ended with the renewal of Bhandari's membership.
Vidya Bhandari was the President for the first time from 2072 Kartik 12 to 2074 Falgun 29 and for the second time from 2074 Falgun 30 to 2079 Falgun 29. She decided to join active politics by giving up government benefits.
Bhandari, his wife, became active in politics after the death of the then UML general secretary Madan Bhandari on 30 Jestha 2050 while traveling from Pokhara to Chitwan. When UML was in a minority, Oli had been active through the 'Madan Bhandari Foundation'.
Although she had been strongly supported by Chairman Oli since she became active in politics, the bitterness had been increasing recently. She was elected as the first central committee member from the sixth national general convention held in Magh 2054, as a central member again from the seventh general convention in 2059, and as a central vice-chairman at the eighth general convention in 2065. The ninth general convention in 2071 had re-elected her as a vice-chairman and a standing committee member.
