KATHMANDU: Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari has inaugurated a contact office in Thapagaun, Kathmandu, marking a fresh step toward political re-engagement after her tenure as head of state.
Senior CPN-UML leaders, including Senior Vice-Chair Ishwar Pokharel and Vice-Chair Yubaraj Gyawali, attended the office opening on Thursday afternoon. Both leaders, along with Bhandari, addressed the inauguration program.
The office has been set up under the theme of celebrating the birth centenary of late UML leader Madan Bhandari, with whom Bhandari began her political journey. To mark the occasion, a central organizing committee named the “Madan Bhandari 75th Birth Anniversary Main Management Committee,” chaired by former Bagmati Province Chief Minister Dormani Poudel, has also been formed.
The building where Bhandari’s new contact office is located holds special significance for her political life. It was the same house used as a campaign base by Madan Bhandari in 1991 and later by Bidya Bhandari herself during the 1994 election campaign.
Although the UML Central Committee meeting earlier this month decided not to grant her party membership, Bhandari has made it clear that her political journey will not come to a halt. By opening the contact office, she has sought to expand her connection with party cadres and the wider public.
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