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Kathmandu, July 23 \u2013 In a dramatic turn of events, Nepal’s main opposition party, CPN-UML, has officially decided not to allow former President Bidya Devi Bhandari to return to active party politics. The decision was made during a late-night meeting of the party\u2019s Central Committee, chaired by UML leader KP Sharma Oli.<\/p>\n
UML Urges Bhandari to Remain an \u201cElder Statesperson\u201d<\/p>\n
The Central Committee concluded that it would be inappropriate for a former President, who served as the symbol of national unity, guardian of the Constitution, and Supreme Commander of the Nepal Army, to return to active party politics. The party instead urged Bhandari to play the role of a non-partisan advisor and elder statesperson.<\/p>\n
Presenting the proposal, Oli argued that Bhandari had ignored his earlier suggestions about maintaining the dignity of the presidency and had even publicly challenged the party\u2019s leadership by holding a press conference before the meeting.<\/p>\n
Internal Dissent Within UML<\/p>\n
Despite the decision, not all voices in UML were in agreement. Vice-chairpersons Yubaraj Gyawali and Surendra Pandey, along with Standing Committee member Karna Thapa, expressed dissent. Gyawali urged that the issue should have been settled in the party\u2019s Secretariat, not rushed through the Central Committee.<\/p>\n
Thapa criticized the method used to block Bhandari, calling it \u201cinappropriate,\u201d while senior leader Ishwar Pokharel, once a close ally of Bhandari, remained silent during the meeting.<\/p>\n
Several prominent leaders, including Gokul Baskota, Ananda Pokharel, Sita Paudel, Purushottam Paudel, and Arun Nepal, argued that the Constitution does not bar a former President from returning to politics. Other members, like Rachana Khadka, Yubaraj Baskota, and Saroj Yadav, warned that blocking Bhandari could harm the party.<\/p>\n
Bhandari\u2019s Firm Reply: “I Will Not Stop”<\/p>\n
Responding to the UML decision, Bidya Devi Bhandari made a bold statement to the press: \u201cI have already resumed political life. There is no going back now.\u201d She clarified that she had renewed her party membership and did not seek any leadership post.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been active in politics since the late 1970s and stood strong during every political movement. There\u2019s no reason I should stop now,\u201d she said from her residence in Bhainsepati. She also claimed that the party leadership was targeting her out of personal discomfort, particularly after she announced her return to politics on Asar 14 (late June).<\/p>\n
Debate Over Leadership Change in UML<\/p>\n
Beyond Bhandari\u2019s return, the meeting also saw calls for a leadership transition within the party. Central Committee member Usha Kiran Timilsina demanded that KP Oli, who has already served two terms, step down and allow a generational shift.<\/p>\n
She called for internal party statutes to limit political and official posts to two terms only, even for those holding state positions. “Let\u2019s not amend the party\u2019s constitution for the benefit of any individual. Instead, let\u2019s strengthen our organization,” she urged.<\/p>\n
A proposal to amend the UML constitution was passed during the same meeting and will be presented at the upcoming Statute Convention.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/p>\n
UML’s decision reflects more than just the political future of a former president \u2014 it underscores power struggles, constitutional interpretation, and leadership transitions within Nepal\u2019s second-largest party. While Bhandari insists on her political comeback, the Oli faction is determined to preserve party decorum and institutional integrity. The tension is set to escalate as the party moves toward its upcoming major conventions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kathmandu, July 23 \u2013 In a dramatic turn of events, Nepal’s main opposition party, CPN-UML, has officially decided not to allow former President Bidya Devi Bhandari to return to active party politics. The decision was made during a late-night meeting of the party\u2019s Central Committee, chaired by UML leader KP Sharma Oli. UML Urges Bhandari […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nepal","category-madhesh-politics-news","category-top-stories-of-madhesh"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot_20250723_072332_Samsung-Internet-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1341&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paS11m-1se","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}