Nar Bahadur Bhandari

Nar Bahadur Bhandari Biography

Nar Bahadur Bhandari is an active politician of Sikkim and the founder of Sikkim Janata Parishad who served as the chief minister of the state thrice representing Sikkim Janata Parishad party. He served the terms - 18 October 1979 to 11 May 1984 and 8 March 1985 to 17 June 1994. Bhandari founded the Sikkim Janata Parishad in 1977 and won the state assembly elections in 1979 coming to power for the first time. He came to power for the second time in 1985, ruled for a decade and lost the power by No Confidence Motion.

His wife Dil Kumari Bhandari is also an active politician from Sikkim who has been an MP representing Sikkim. Currently she serves as the president of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh. Though Bhandari is known as a prominent leader representing Sikkim Janata Parishad, he was sent to the Rongyek jail in 2011 when High Court upheld his conviction by a lower court on corruption charges. He was convicted in a decade old corruption case. It was related to a rural water supply scheme undertaken during his first term as Chief Minister.

Bhandari was born on 5 October 1940 in Malbasay village of Soreng. After graduation he worked as a school teacher for a brief period before joining politics. He was sworn in as the 2nd Chief Minister on 18 October 1979. He resigned in 1984 when he turned a parliamentarian. But he served as MP for a brief period only. He got re-elected in 1985 and served as the chief minister of Sikkim for a decade till 1995. He was defeated in a No Confidence Motion and was forced to resign.

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Updated: May 07, 2014