KATHMANDU: The CPN-UML has stated that former President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s party membership has automatically become inactive.
At a press conference organized on Wednesday by the party’s Department of Publicity and Publication to brief the media on the recent Central Committee meeting decisions, UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel said that it would not be appropriate for former President Bhandari to return to active party politics.
He said that as a result, her membership was not renewed and had become inactive by default. UML holds that both while serving in office and after retirement, a former head of state in such a prestigious position should not return to party politics—something not envisioned by the Constitution of Nepal.
Pokharel argued that the decision to keep Bhandari out of active politics was made not just to safeguard the party, but to uphold the strength of democracy.
“While her return might have benefitted the party politically, it would have weakened democratic values,” he said. He also clarified that the removal of the two-term limit and the 70-year age cap for party leadership—seen as favoring KP Sharma Oli’s continued leadership—was a political narrative, not a constitutional barrier.
Pokharel emphasized that any qualified representative still has the right to contest for the party chair as per the party statute.
At the same press event, Head of the Publicity and Publication Department Rajendra Gautam shared that the party’s Central Committee had passed an eight-point resolution addressing current political issues, the government’s performance, the upcoming statute convention, and other contemporary matters.
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