Nar Bahadur Bhandari

2021-05-22T09:29:10Z

202.51.69.44:

{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{more sources|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox Indian politician
| name = Nar Bahadur Bhandari
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1940|10|05}}
| birth_place = Malbasy, [[Soreng]], [[Kingdom of Sikkim]]
| residence = [[Gangtok]], [[Sikkim]], [[India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2017|7|16|1940|10|5}}
| death_place =[[New Delhi]], [[India]]
| constituency =
| order1 = 2nd
| office1 = Chief Minister of Sikkim
| term_start1 = 8 March 1985
| term_end1 = 17 June 1994
| governor1 = [[Kona Prabhakara Rao]] [[Bhishma Narain Singh]] {{small|(Additional Charge)}} [[T. V. Rajeswar]] [[S. K. Bhatnagar]] [[Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani|R. H. Tahiliani]]
| predecessor1 = [[President's rule]]
| successor1 = [[Sanchaman Limboo]]
| term_start2 = 18 October 1979
| term_end2 = 11 May 1984
| governor2 = B.B. Lal [[Homi J. H. Taleyarkhan]]
| predecessor2 = President's rule
| successor2 = [[B. B. Gurung]]
| nationality = [[India|Indian]]
| party = [[Sikkim Sangram Parishad]]
| spouse = [[Dil Kumari Bhandari]]
| footnotes =
}}

'''Nar Bahadur Bhandari''' (5 October 1940 – 16 July 2017) was a [[Chief Minister (India)|chief minister]] of the state of [[Sikkim]] in [[India]] who governed the state from 1979 to 1994. He was the founding leader of the [[Sikkim Sangram Parishad]] party. He was popularly remembered for his efforts to include the [[Nepali language]] in [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India|8th Schedule of the Constitution of India]]. He was the first Indian chief minister of Gorkha origin. He also served as the president of Bharatia Nepali Bhasha Parisangh until his death. He is popularly known as the architect of modern Sikkim.

==Personal life==
Nar Bahadur Bhandari was born on 5 October 1940<ref>{{cite news |title=Sikkim: Former CM, Nar Bahadur Bhandari turns 76 today! |url=https://www.thenortheasttoday.com/current-affairs/states/sikkim-former-cm-nar-bahadur-bhandari-turns-76-today |access-date=11 December 2020 |work=The Northeast Today |date=5 October 2016}}</ref> in Malbasay village, near [[Soreng]], [[West Sikkim]]<ref name="Bhandari reference1">{{cite news |title=Former Sikkim CM Nar Bahadur Bhandari passes away |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/former-sikkim-cm-nar-bahadur-bhandari-passes-away-117071600604_1.html |access-date=19 February 2021 |work=Business Standard India |publisher=Business Standard |date=16 July 2017}}</ref> He earned his BA degree from [[Darjeeling Government College]] and worked as a school teacher for some years before entering politics. His wife, [[Dil Kumari Bhandari]], is a former member of parliament ([[Lok Sabha]]) from Sikkim. He has two daughters and son.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Sikkim CM Nar Bahadur Bhandari passes away |url=http://ddnews.gov.in/national/former-sikkim-cm-nar-bahadur-bhandari-passes-away |access-date=19 February 2021 |work=DD News |date=16 July 2017}}</ref>

==Politics==
Bhandari founded the [[Sikkim Janata Parishad]] in 1977. This party won the state assembly election in 1979, and he became the chief minister for the first time on 18 October 1979<ref name="Bhandari reference1" />.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} In 1984, he also served briefly as member of parliament from the Sikkim constituency in the [[8th Lok Sabha]] as an independent candidate. In 1984, Bhandari dissolved Sikkim Janata Parishad and formed a new party called Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP). This party ran in the assembly elections in 1985 and won, and Bhandari became the chief minister for the second time.<ref name="Bhandari reference1" /> In 1989, SSP returned to power by winning the assembly elections.<ref name="Bhandari reference1" /> In a rare instance in Indian national politics, the SSP became the singular party in the [[Elections in Sikkim|Sikkim Legislative Assembly]], winning all 32 seats in the house. In 1994, Bhandari lost a vote of confidence in the state assembly, and he resigned as chief minister. Later, he served as a member of the legislative assembly from 1994 to 2004.

In 1994, SSP lost the assembly elections to the [[Sikkim Democratic Front]] led by [[Pawan Kumar Chamling]]. SSP also lost the 1999 assembly election. In the 2004 state assembly elections, Bhandari ran under the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] party, but the party lost the election, winning only one seat in the assembly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/ElectionStatistics.asp |title=Archived copy |access-date=1 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005110118/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/ElectionStatistics.asp |archive-date=5 October 2010 }} Election Commission of India - Sikkim Assembly Elections</ref> In May 2007, he was sentenced to prison for one month in a corruption case. <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/former-sikkim-cm-sentenced-to-prison-in-corruption-case/story-Y54ehdphfvYsbryLGCK90I.html|title=Former Sikkim CM sentenced to prison in corruption case|date=28 May 2007|work=Hindustan Times|access-date=25 January 2020}}</ref> Again in the 2009 assembly elections, the Congress party under Bhandari failed to win any seat in the state assembly.
In the 2014 election, his party unanimously supported a new political party SKM{{clarification needed|date=June 2019}} under the leadership of PS Golay. Bhandari, despite his conviction in a corruption case continued campaigning for SKM which managed to win only 10 seats out of 32. Prior to his death, he was closely involved with the SKM party; he gave his last speech at the SKM Foundation Day Celebration in Singtam on 4 February 2017.

His notable political accomplishments are free education from elementary to graduate school, establishing nearby schools-- within a radius of 3 to 4 km-- for all residents, providing drinking water to every household in Sikkim, building a network of roads to all major villages in Sikkim, bringing all rural areas onto the electric grid, and the setup of vast healthcare centers.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

==Later life and death==
Bhandari became the president of the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC) after he had merged SSP with the [[Indian National Congress]] in 2003. In May 2013, he was reinstated as the president of SSP. In 2014, he was convicted in a CBI corruption case<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Sikkim CM sentenced to prison in corruption case |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/former-sikkim-cm-sentenced-to-prison-in-corruption-case/story-Y54ehdphfvYsbryLGCK90I.html |access-date=19 February 2021 |work=Hindustan Times |publisher=Hindustan Times |date=28 May 2007 |language=en}}</ref>.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

Bhandari died on 16 July 2017 following spinal surgery.<ref name = "DeathMourningExpress">{{cite news|url=http://morungexpress.com/sikkim-ex-cm-bhandari-dies-delhi-hospital/|title=Sikkim ex-CM Bhandari dies at Delhi hospital|work=Mourning Express|date=16 July 2017|access-date=16 July 2017}}</ref>

His final rites were performed with full state honours by the current chief minister, Pawan Kumar Chamling, including a 21-gun salute. In a very rare gesture, the family of the former king of Sikkim sent their royal flag to be wrapped around Bhandari{{clarification needed|date=June 2019|reason=Is this around his body, or around his coffin?}} during the state funeral.

== Electoral records ==
; [[Sikkim Legislative Assembly]] election
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Constituency
! Political Party
! Result
! Position
! Votes
! % Votes
! % Margin
! Deposit
! Source
|-
| [[1979 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|1979]]
| [[Soreng-Chakung (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Soreong]]
| [[Sikkim Janata Parishad|SJP]]
| Won
| 1st/7
| 1,833
| 70.26
| +55.88
| refunded
| <ref>{{cite web|title=STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1979 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3354-sikkim-1979/|publisher=ECI|access-date=18 November 2019|location=|year=1979}}</ref>
|-
| [[1985 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|1985]]
| [[Soreng-Chakung (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Soreong]]
| [[Sikkim Sangram Parishad|SSP]]
| Won
| 1st/5
| 2,964
| 80.48
| +63.29
| refunded
| <ref>{{cite web|title=STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1985 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3356-sikkim-1985/|publisher=ECI|access-date=18 November 2019|location=|year=1985}}</ref>
|-
| [[1989 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|1989]]
| [[Soreng-Chakung (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Soreong]]
| [[Sikkim Sangram Parishad|SSP]]
| Won
| 1st/3
| 4,712
| 91.53
| +83.76
| refunded
| <ref>{{cite web|title=STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1989 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3358-sikkim-1989/|publisher=ECI|access-date=18 November 2019|location=|year=1989}}</ref>
|-
| [[1994 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|1994]]
| [[Soreng-Chakung (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Soreong]]
| [[Sikkim Sangram Parishad|SSP]]
| Won
| 1st/4
| 3,291
| 51.83
| +6.38
| refunded
| <ref name="ECI1999">{{cite web|title=STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1994 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3360-sikkim-1994/|publisher=ECI|access-date=18 November 2019|location=|year=1994}}</ref>
|-
| [[1999 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|1999]]
| [[Soreng-Chakung (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Soreong]]
| [[Sikkim Sangram Parishad|SSP]]
| Lost
| 2nd/3
| 3,390
| 48.85
| -0.95
| refunded
| <ref name="ECI1999"/>
|-
| [[1999 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|1999]]
| [[Rhenock (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Rhenock]]
| [[Sikkim Sangram Parishad|SSP]]
| Won
| 1st/4
| 3,364
| 55.97
| +13.11
| refunded
| <ref name=ECI1999/>
|-
| [[2004 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|2004]]
| [[Central Pendam-East Pendam (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Central Pendam-East Pendam]]
| [[Indian National Congress|INC]]
| Lost
| 2nd/4
| 2,165
| 22.77
| -36.34
| refunded
| <ref name=ECI2004>{{cite web|title=STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 2004 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3363-sikkim-2004/|publisher=ECI|access-date=18 November 2019|location=|year=2004}}</ref>
|-
| [[2004 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|2004]]
| [[Gangtok (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Gangtok]]
| [[Indian National Congress|INC]]
| Lost
| 2nd/4
| 2,829
| 31.70
| -34.99
| refunded
| <ref name=ECI2004/>
|-
| [[2009 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|2009]]
| [[Soreng-Chakung (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Soreong-Chakung]]
| [[Indian National Congress|INC]]
| Lost
| 2nd/5
| 2,378
| 24.34
| -42.16
| refunded
| <ref name=ECI2009>{{cite web|title=STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 2009 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SIKKIM|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3364-sikkim-2009/|publisher=ECI|access-date=31 October 2019|location=|year=2009}}</ref>
|-
| [[2009 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election|2009]]
| [[Khamdong-Singtam (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Khamdong-Singtam]]
| [[Indian National Congress|INC]]
| Lost
| 2nd/3
| 3,032
| 39.76
| -16.60
| refunded
| <ref name=ECI2009/>
|}

; [[Sikkim (Lok Sabha constituency)|Lok Sabha election, Sikkim]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Constituency
! Political Party
! Result
! Position
! Votes
! % Votes
! % Margin
! Deposit
! Source
|-
| [[1984 Indian general election|1984]]
| [[Sikkim (Lok Sabha constituency)|Sikkim]]
| [[Independent politician|IND]]
| Won
| 1st/8
| 56,614
| 68.50
| +42.69
| refunded
| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1984/Vol_I_LS_84.pdf|title=Statistical Report on General Elections, 1984 to the Eighth Lok Sabha|page=201|publisher=Election Commission of India|access-date=30 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718184911/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1984/Vol_I_LS_84.pdf|archive-date=18 July 2014}}</ref>
|-
| [[1996 Indian general election|1996]]
| [[Sikkim (Lok Sabha constituency)|Sikkim]]
| [[Sikkim Sangram Parishad|SSP]]
| Lost
| 2nd/7
| 42,175
| 24.50
| -47.65
| refunded
| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1996/Vol_I_LS_96.pdf|title=Statistical Report on General Elections, 1996 to the Eleventh Lok Sabha|page=385|publisher=Election Commission of India|access-date=30 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718183504/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1996/Vol_I_LS_96.pdf|archive-date=18 July 2014}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Chief Ministers of Sikkim}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhandari, Nar Bahadur}}
[[Category:Sikkim politicians]]
[[Category:Chief Ministers of Sikkim]]
[[Category:Indian people of Nepalese descent]]
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:University of North Bengal alumni]]
[[Category:People from West Sikkim district]]
[[Category:8th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Sikkim]]
[[Category:Sikkim Sangram Parishad politicians]]

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Nar Bahadur Bhandari