Nar Bahadur Bhandari (5 October 1940 – 16 July 2017) was an Indian politician who served as the

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the state of

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

from 1979 to 1994. He was the founding leader of the

Sikkim Sangram Parishad Sikkim Sangram Parishad is a regional political party in the Indian state of Sikkim. In 1979, after a period of instability, a ministry headed by Nar Bahadur Bhandari from Sikkim Janata Parishad party gained power in Sikkim. In 1984, Bhandari di ...

. He was popularly remembered for his efforts to include the

Nepali language Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian st ...

in 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India. He was awarded with prestigious

Jagadamba Shree Purasakar Jagadamba Shree Puraskar () is an award given for contribution to Nepali Language, Literature, Art and Folk Culture Field. It is awarded to a person or an organization who has contributed in the field of Nepali language, literature, art or folk c ...

for his contribution for Nepali language. He was the first Indian chief minister of Gorkha origin. He also served as the president of Bharatiya 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 in Malbasay village, near

Soreng Soreng is a town and headquarters of the Soreng district, in the Indian state of Sikkim. Soreng is a newly formed District. Soreng is known for its largest production of vegetables, oranges and flowers. The inhabitants ...

West Sikkim Gyalshing District or Geyzing District is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its headquarter is Geyzing, also known as Gyalshing. The district is a favourite with trekkers due to the high elevations. Other important towns include Pelli ...

He earned his BA degree from

Darjeeling Government College Darjeeling Government College is a co-educational government-funded college established in 1948 in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. The college is in North Point, Darjeeling. Courses It offers postgraduate courses in Botany, Zoology, English a ...

and worked as a school teacher for some years before entering politics. His wife,

Dil Kumari Bhandari Dil Kumari Bhandari/Rai ( Nepali: दिल कुमारी भण्डारी/राई) is a former and the first woman member of parliament (Lok Sabha) from Sikkim. She was also the president of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, an organizat ...

, is a former member of parliament (

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

) from Sikkim. He has three daughters and son.

Politics

Bhandari founded the

Sikkim Janata Parishad Sikkim Janata Parishad or SJP (Sikkim Popular Association) was a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim led by N.B. Bhandari. SJP won the state assembly elections 1979, when it got 22,776 votes (31,49%) and won 17 seats (had candidates in ...

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. In 1984, he also served briefly as member of parliament from the Sikkim constituency in the

8th Lok Sabha The 8th Lok Sabha ran from 31 December 1984 to 27 November 1989. Politicians were elected in December 1984, taking office by the end of the month. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the bicameral Parliament of India. 9 s ...

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. In 1989, SSP returned to power by winning the assembly elections. In a rare instance in Indian national politics, the SSP became the singular party in the

Sikkim Legislative Assembly The Sikkim Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Sikkim States and territories of India, state in north-eastern India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Gangtok, the capital of the Sikkim state. History Sikkim be ...

, 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 Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Sikkim. It was the ruling party in Sikkim from 12 December 1994 to 23 May 2019. History The party was founded by Pawan Kumar Chamling in 1993. It has ruled the ...

led by

Pawan Kumar Chamling Pawan Kumar Chamling (born 22 September 1949) is an Indian politician and the former Chief Minister of Sikkim. Chamling is the Founding President of the Sikkim Democratic Front, which governed the state for five successive terms since 1994. Ch ...

. SSP also lost the 1999 assembly election. In the 2004 state assembly elections, Bhandari ran under the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

party, but the party lost the election, winning only one seat in the assembly. In May 2007, he was sentenced to prison for one month in a corruption case. 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

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (translation: ''Sikkim Revolutionary Front'') is a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim which was the ruling party of Sikkim in 2020. P.S. Golay, a former member of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, was one of ...

, 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.

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 The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

in 2003. In May 2013, he was reinstated as the president of SSP. In 2014, he was convicted in a CBI corruption case. Bhandari died on 16 July 2017 following spinal surgery. 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's body during the state funeral.

Electoral records

;

election ; Lok Sabha election, Sikkim

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhandari, Nar Bahadur Sikkim politicians Chief Ministers of Sikkim Indian Gorkhas 1940 births 2017 deaths University of North Bengal alumni People from Gyalshing district India MPs 1984–1989 Lok Sabha members from Sikkim Sikkim Sangram Parishad politicians Sikkim MLAs 1979–1984 Sikkim MLAs 1985–1989 Sikkim MLAs 1989–1994 Sikkim MLAs 1994–1999 Sikkim MLAs 1999–2004 Jagadamba Shree Puraskar winners