“Comrade Bogati was an intellectual leader who always championed the party’s welfare. He never had a partisan view within the party and never supported one person. For him, the party always came first. His absence will be a huge loss for the UCPN (Maoist) which cannot be filled,” said Dahal.

Born in 1953 in Tupchhe VDC-2 of Nuwakot district, Bogati was the eldest of the six children of Bhairav Bahadur Bogati and late Lekh Kumari Bogati. He developed interest in communist ideology from early age. He became an official political party member in 1977 by joining the then Communist Party of Nepal led by veteran communist leader Pushpa Lal Shrestha. In the later years, Bogati went on to join the Masal Ekata Kendra, and in the early 1990s he became the member of CPN (Maoist) and participated in the armed rebellion.

In 2001, Bogati’s son, Ravi, was killed in a battle with the state security force. Despite losing his son, leaders close to Bogati said, he never lost his composure. He made many valuable contributions to the party which he continued until his last day, the leaders said.

 After the UCPN (Maoist) joined the peaceful politics in 2008, Bogati became a member of the Constituent Assembly  from Nuwakot constituency and subsequently assumed the post of the party’s chief whip. He also held two ministerial portfolios at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Ministry for Information and Culture. In the second CA election, Bogati was defeated by Nepali Congress a candidate.

Before becoming the UCPN (Maoist) vice-chairman, he had held the positions of the party’s central committee member, politburo member, standing committee member and the general secretary. Bogati is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Tupchhe villagers remember Bogati for his magnanimous nature

PRAKASH ADHIKARI (NUWAKOT)

The people of Tupchhe VDC in Nuwakot, the home of UCPN (Maoist) Vice-chairman Post Bahadur Bogati, mourned his death on Monday. The entire village was shocked by the news of Bogati’s death, who passed away aged 62 while undergoing treatment at Norvic International Hospital in Kathmandu.

The people who knew Bogati remembered him as a simple man with a generous heart. They recalled his many contributions to the village as a politician, lawmaker and minister.

While most of the young villagers left for Kathmandu to attend the Bogati’s funeral, those who stayed back paid their last respects by remembering him and his works.

“He believed in giving and that’s what he did. He lived by the principle that as a human being one must always contribute to his society and country,” said Krishna Prasad Badal, Bogati’s friend and a Nepali Congress cadre.

According to Badal, Bogati had played a crucial role in creating employments for many local youths by introducing various agricultural projects in the village. The UCPN (Maoist) leader had founded a farmers’ group in 1975 which gave jobs to many villagers. Bogati had even quit his job one time in order to support and manage a youth group that worked for the welfare of the society.

“He was a good friend and the a progressive leader,” Badal said. “His untimely passing has caused an immeasurable loss.”

Bogati’s classmate Ram Krishna Bhandari remembered the late UCPN (Maoist) vice-chairman as the leader of the poor people.

“He believed that social transformation was only possible through the improvement of economic condition of the poor people,” Bhadari said.

Badri Narayan Sharma Pyakurel said Bogati was one of the rare leaders who had the way of making the people around him comfortable. “Though he was a big politician, he never had that formidable quality and that made him special. Everybody respected him, even his rivals, because he was a warm person,” said Pyakurel, who knew Bogati since his childhood.

The villagers of Tupchhe VDC said everyone in the village were aware of Bogati’s generous  nature, but his magnanimity became most evident when he decided to donate his ancestral property to local Chaneshwori Secondary School. They said Bogati will always live in their memories.