Nar Bahadur Bhandari (5 October 1940 – 16 July 2017) was an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of the state of Sikkim from 1979 to 1994.

Nar Bahadur Bhandari was born on 5 October 1940[2] in Malbasay village, near Soreng, West Sikkim[3] He earned his BA degree from Darjeeling Government College and worked as a school teacher for some years before entering politics.

[citation needed] In 1984, he also served briefly as member of parliament from the Sikkim constituency in the 8th Lok Sabha as an independent candidate.

[3] In a rare instance in Indian national politics, the SSP became the singular party in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, winning all 32 seats in the house.

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.

[8] 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.