It was no secret—and it now comes from the horse’s mouth.

Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari announced on Saturday her political ambitions, saying that she had returned to her former party CPN-UML. The former head of state’s plunge back into politics suggests she aims to lead the party—and possibly the country as its chief executive.

As discussions intensify within the ruling UML over a two-term limit and the 70-year age cap for leadership positions, former Bhandari, 64, announced her return to active politics amid a programme commemorating her late husband, Madan Bhandari.

Bidya Devi Bhandari has been touring various parts of the country for some time, gathering information and assessing the possibility of her return to active politics. Last month, she led a delegation of politicians to China and toured the country for 10 days, meeting top Chinese Communist Party officials.

Bhandari announced her return to active politics amid a programme organised by the Madan Bhandari Foundation in Kathmandu on Saturday on the occasion of the late UML general secretary’s 74th birth anniversary. Before his mysterious death in a car accident in 1993, Bhandari had propounded ‘People’s multiparty democracy’ as the UML’s guiding ideology.

At the event held at the Rastriya Sabha Griha on Exhibition Road in Kathmandu, some party leaders and cadres said they were uncomfortable openly speaking to the media as they currently serve in various party committees. But they told the Post that they believe that time has come for a change in the party’s top leadership.

Following Bhandari’s announcement to again become active in politics, some party leaders and cadres expressed their belief that she will assume a leadership role through the upcoming general convention.

The UML is witnessing strong calls for a change in leadership. Although party leaders and cadres had been subtly raising this demand for some time, his voice could get louder after Saturday’s developments.

The ruling party is set to hold its second Statute Convention from August 5 to 7 in Godavari, Lalitpur. This convention will also decide the date for the party’s 11th general convention that will elect the next leadership of the party.

Former President Bhandari recently renewed her UML membership, although the party is yet to officially confirm it. Before becoming the country’s second President from 2015 to 2023, Bhandari was elected a vice-chair of the UML during its ninth general convention held in 2014 in Kathmandu. She dissociated herself from the party after being elected to the country’s top post.

UML leaders at the event clarified that their call for fresh leadership does not stem from a lack of trust in KP Sharma Oli, but rather from the belief that the existing leadership has been ‘tested multiple times’. Bhandari’s leadership could revitalise the party and inject new vigour in it, some of the cadres gathered at the city hall said.

The secretariat meeting held on June 25 formed a committee led by Vice-chairman Bishnu Paudel to draft an amendment to the party statute. It also decided that the issues of age limit and two-year term will be finalised through the statute convention.

If the age limit and two-term policies are implemented, party’s current chief Oli, and senior vice-chairs Ishwar Pokhrel, Ashta Laxmi Shakya, Yubaraj Gyawali, and Ram Bahadur Thapa, among other septuagenarian leaders, will automatically be sidelined.

“After being relieved from a different kind of political responsibility [President], I renewed my party membership with the noble objective of continuing my political journey within the UML,” Bhandari said on Saturday. “I am now reunited as a member of the UML family, and I take pride in that.”

Quoting her late husband, she said: “There is no such word as ‘fatigue’ in politics.”

Amid the speculation of her return to active politics, UML had awarded the ‘Republic Pride Honour’ to former President Bhandari on April 22 last year on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Communist Party of Nepal.

By honouring her, some UML leaders had hoped to discourage her from returning to active politics.

Nripendra Mahat, a party cadre from Humla who also attended the Saturday event, echoed this sentiment.

In the UML, the same individuals repeatedly getting leadership positions has strengthened those few leaders at the expense of the vast majority of cadres, he argued.

“But it should have been the other way around—the cadres should have been stronger than the leaders,” Mahat remarked.

Mahat argued that the current second- and third-tier leaders are not in a position to lead the party, and therefore asserted that former President Bhandari should take the party’s mantle from its 11th general convention.

Due to the leadership’s inefficacy, attendance at our party’s programmes had significantly declined, he said. “However, given the speculations of Bhandari’s return to active politics, the turnout in this event increased substantially. In terms of numbers, this is one of the best-attended events the party has organised of late,” claimed Mahat.

He was referring to the jam-packed hall of the Rastriya Sabhagriha where UML leaders and cadres gathered to listen to Oli and Bhandari.

A section of UML leaders and members were publicly speaking through social media in the past few days, suggesting a special announcement would be made at the foundation’s event on Saturday.

A senior leader of the party said the current leadership’s narrow-mindedness had disrupted the party’s smooth functioning. The leader added that with Bhandari’s announcement of return to active politics, the scenario now looks different.

However, the leader also expressed confidence that Bhandari’s return to leadership would ultimately receive Oli’s backing.

Yet not all party leaders and cadres support Bhandari’s return. These sceptics’ main concern is that the UML may witness intense factionalism following her return, further weakening the party. Such groupism has already twice split the party.

Constitutional law expert Bhimarjun Acharya also sees Bhandari’s return as problematic. He argues that after her return to the party, she might also want to hold the country’s top executive position—something the constitution does not envision.

“Our constitution considers the role of the President as neutral. Even if the person had political affiliations before assuming office, engaging in party politics after serving as President seriously undermines the dignity of the [top] post,” Acharya told the Post. “This is inappropriate from both legal and moral standpoints.”

Political analyst CK Lal also criticises the former President’s announcement. He argues that Bhandari’s move undermines the dignity of the country’s highest office and is another indication that politics in Nepal has become a profession devoid of moral values.

Pointing to Bhandari’s announcement just a month after her return from China visit, Lal said it cannot be said with certainty that this was due to “Chinese goodwill”.

“China formulates its politics in such a way that they can be interpreted as both yes and no. I believe the same applies in Bhandari’s case,” Lal said.

Before former President Bhandari announced her return to active politics, Prime Minister and UML chair KP Sharma Oli, who was the chief guest at the event, remarked that some had expected the programme to mark the beginning of UML’s fragmentation.

However, he asserted that this would not happen, emphasising, “The UML is one and it will stay united—it’s better not to dream of anything else.”

But some leaders from his own faction have reportedly opposed the former President’s return to party politics.

According to UML insiders, during the party secretariat meeting on June 25, General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel expressed the view that the party statute should prevent a former President from returning to politics.

Referring to the internal division over the former President’s political comeback, senior vice-chair Ishwar Pokhrel said on Saturday that such disagreements must be addressed following due process.

Otherwise, it could give rise to resentment and ultimately be counterproductive for the party, he remarked.

Pokhrel blamed the growing dissatisfaction in the party in recent times on the top leadership and stressed that it is their responsibility to address the issue.

His remarks were clearly aimed at Oli, but the UML chair had left the venue when Bhandari and Pokhrel addressed party leaders and cadres. Prime Minister Oli left immediately after his speech, as he was due to travel to Spain later in the day. He leads a 21-member delegation to the Global Development Summit.

Senior Vice-chair Pokhrel also argued for a two-term limit and 70 years age cap, saying that the party had not abruptly introduced these provisions.

He also argued that as the former President is a political figure, she reserves all the right to return to party politics.