Can Bidya’s Entry Revive UML?

The intra-party conflict within the CPN-UML has taken a new turn. After a year of humiliation, the party has rolled out the red carpet for former president Bidya Devi Bhandari. Party chair KP Sharma Oli appointed Bhandari as its senior leader – second in hierarchy- reversing his earlier decision to block her entry into the party. In June last year, Bhandari was denied party membership despite the fact that she renewed it. At that time, Oli felt a threat from her active engagement in the party. Now she has been accorded a respectable position just to blunt the rising call for leadership transfer and organisational overhaul within the party in the wake of the Gen Z movement and subsequent March election.

On October 8, an unusual scene was staged at the UML central office in Chyasal. Oli administered the oath of office and secrecy to Bhandari as the party's senior leader, although its statute does not have a provision for such a post. A former prime minister was administering the oath of secrecy to a former president. This not only mocks the official hierarchy set by the state but also raises a question: does it behoove her to take a plunge into politics after serving the highest position of the nation for two consecutive terms?  

Impersonal institution 

Although the constitution doesn't bar a past president from political engagement, the matter is more ethical than legal. The presidency is an impersonal and impartial institution. An individual must give up his/her party membership before assuming the presidency. The dignity and importance of the presidential post lie in the president's competence to defend the constitution and national interest. This requires rising above the partisan role. Even after leaving office, he/she must uphold this status. Former presidents must play a role as senior statesmen. This is a practice that is not necessarily coded in the national charter. The constitutional ethics and unwritten tradition should guide former presidents when it comes to their post-retirement role. They should be model citizens, instilling good virtues in the people. If they become active in politics under the banner of certain political parties, their prestige, integrity and public expectations will turn to dust.