Gangtok: On the 82nd birth anniversary of former Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari, his political party Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) handed over the flag and ‘legacy of Nar Bahadur Bhandari’ to Bhaichung Bhutia’s Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP).
Bhutia accepted the flag and subsequently declared the white and red bands as the official colours of the new party flag of HSP. Bhutia announced this decision to honour and carry forward Bhandari’s legacy and vision for a developed Sikkim.
Sikkim Sangram Parishad was among the five political parties from Sikkim among the 86 registered, unrecognised political parties which were delisted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in September.
Bhandari established 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. Bhandari became the president of the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC) after he had merged SSP with the Indian National Congress in 2003.
On the occasion, SSP Senior Vice President Kamal Rai said, “If Bhandari would have been alive he would have wished that a young leader like Bhaichung who has already made Sikkim and India proud should be the flag bearer of our vision for Sikkim. Therefore, today I along with the blessings of the chairperson of SSP madam Dil Kumari Bhandari and secretary DB Basnett, want to hand over the flag with horizontal bands of white and red of SSP to Bhaichung Bhutia.”
HSP through a press release mentioned, “As a founding father of modern Sikkim, Bhandari remains one of our finest and most beloved statesmen, who laid the foundations on which Sikkim stands today. HSP will carry the values of Bhandari in our fight to unite the people in our fight for change. The new flag signals new beginnings, a new approach, a new Vikalpa, and a new era of progress and prosperity in Sikkim led by the Hamro Sikkim Party.”
Nar Bahadur Bhandari, born on October 5, 1940, served as the Chief Minister of Sikkim from 1979 to 1994. He was the founding leader of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad. He was popularly remembered for his efforts to include the Nepali language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India. He was awarded the prestigious Jagadamba Shree Purasakar for his contribution to the 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. In 1984, NB Bhandari also served briefly as a 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). The party ran in the assembly elections in 1985 and won, and Bhandari became the chief minister for the second time.
In 1989, the SSP became the singular party in the 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. In the 2014 election, his party unanimously supported a new political party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, under the leadership of PS Golay. Before his death, he was closely involved with the SKM party; he gave his last speech at the SKM Foundation Day Celebration in Singtam on February 4, 2017.
Bhandari died on July 16, 2017, following spinal surgery. In a 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.
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