Nepal, Aug. 10 -- It was wrong of former President Bidya Devi Bhandari to try to reenter politics after having relinquished party membership for eight years, but it was more wrong of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) to nip Bhandari's comeback bid in the bud. She served as the second president of Republic Nepal from 2015 to 2023. At the time of her appointment as president, she was serving as vice-chairperson of the UML, with Oli at the top. She renewed her UML membership one year ago, but this caused a stir only after she recently talked about her intention to return to active party politics. The UML central committee, in panic, has decided not to renew her membership.

Bhandari's comeba...