KP Sharma Oli

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli was born on 22 February 1952 in Aathrai, Tehrathum district of eastern Nepal. Born in a humble family of Kumai Brahmin farmers, he is the eldest child of Mohan Prasad and Madhumaya Oli.[12][13][14] Oli was raised by his grandmother, Rammaya, after his mother died of smallpox when he was four.[15] He completed his primary school education in Tehrathum and later migrated to the southeastern district of Jhapa in 1962.[16] He resided mostly in Jhapa during his early political life. Oli continued his studies up to Class 9 at Himalaya Higher Secondary School in Damak, Jhapa.[17]

K. P. Sharma Oli at the Tribhuvan International Airport

Oli began his political career in 1966 in opposition to the partyless Panchayat system in place at the time. He joined the Communist Party of Nepal in February 1970. He was involved in subversive politics and was arrested for the first time in 1970. A year later he became a district committee member of the party and soon the chief of the Jhapa Movement Organizing Committee in 1972. Oli was imprisoned for 14 consecutive years from 1973 to 1987 for being against autocratic Panchayat system. After his release from prison in 1987, he became a central committee member of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and in-charge of the Lumbini zone until 1990.

Oli was elected as Prime Minister in a parliamentary vote on 11 October 2015, receiving 338 votes out of 597. Oli's candidacy was supported by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, and Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum along with 13 other small parties. He was sworn in on 12 October.[23]

His first stint was dominated by the economic blockade imposed by India upon the promulgation of the constitution of Nepal.[24] He took a defiant stance against India's position to amend the constitution and signed trade and transit treaties with China to counter Indian dependence.[25]

Following the withdrawal of support from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) on 13 July 2016 from the existing coalition government and subsequent registration of a no-confidence motion by the party on 14 July 2016, CPN (UML) and prime minister Oli seemingly shrank into a minority which pressured him to resign. But CPN (UML)'s decision to discuss the filed no-confidence motion led to a three-day parliament meeting of the concerned parties. During the process, two other major parties, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, also removed their support from the coalition. On the third day, 24 July 2016, after addressing the opposition parties in parliament, Oli announced his resignation. The Indian government has been accused for creating this political scenario against Oli as he stood firmly against the economic blockade imposed by India.

He was appointed Prime Minister for a second time on 15 February 2018 after CPN (UML) became the largest party in the House of Representatives following the 2017 legislative elections with support from Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), the same party whose withdrawal of support had led to resignation in his first term.[26][27] He passed a motion of confidence with on 11 March 2018 with 208 out of 268 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives.[28] He has been criticized for poor investigation in searching the murderers of Nirmala Panta leading to nationwide protests. In May 2020, the Oli government unveiled new maps of the country including the disputed territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura in response to the inauguration of a road across the Lipulekh pass by the Indian government,[29] which has led to a "cartographic war" between the two countries.[30]

He has been elected to the Pratinidhi Sabha from Jhapa in 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2017 on a CPN (UML) ticket.[31] He contested and won from two constituencies in the 1999 election and gave up his Jhapa–6 seat. He lost the 2008 Constituent assembly election, but was elected in 2013. Only the top two candidates are shown below.

1991 Pratinidhi Sabha election

Jhapa–6

1994 Pratinidhi Sabha election

Jhapa–6

1999 Pratinidhi Sabha election

Jhapa–2

Jhapa–6

2008 Constituent Assembly election

Jhapa–7

2013 Constituent Assembly election

Jhapa–7

2015 Parliamentary Prime Minister Election

2017 House of Representatives Election

Jhapa–5[32]

Oli is married to Radhika Shakya. He met his wife, a fellow communist, after coming out of prison. They first met in the course of party activities and married later.[33]

Oli is known for his tongue-in-cheek remarks and blithe disregard for his critics. He is popular for using various slang and proverbs (Nepali: उखान टुक्का, romanized: Ukhān ṭukkā), suggesting double meanings and sometimes even to an extent of criticism from within his own party.[34][35] Having denied of hurting the sentiments of people, Oli has claimed that he learnt this technique during the Panchayat era to entertain his colleagues when he was underground.[35] Following are some of his controversial claims:

• Super computer, February 2019: Oli claimed that the world is amazed by the supercomputer being built by Nepal. He was referring to a computer that was being built in the Banepa IT Park, which the makers have claimed to be a supercomputer regardless of its limited computing capacity.[36]
• Rhino and Mount Everest, August 2019: Oli claimed rhinoceros should be called using the Nepali word for the animal, Gainda (Nepali: गैँडा, romanized: Gaim̐ḍā) instead of rhinoceros and Mount Everest should be known as Sagarmatha (Nepali: सगरमाथा, romanized: Sagarmāthā) by everyone.[37] He said, "...Do you know what gaida [is]? You people know gaida as rhino. But rhinos are not rhinos, they are gaida. I request you to remember this word—gaida...".[38]
• Indian coronavirus, May 2020: During the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, Oli had lashed out at India, saying that the “Indian virus” was more dangerous than the “Chinese or Italian virus” and even made light of the Indian national emblem.[39] He said this during an address to the parliament where he blamed the rising number of coronavirus cases on individuals breaking the nationwide lockdown, especially those sneaking into Nepal from India, claiming that "people coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country."[40] This sparked a round of media attention in India.[41][42]
• Sneeze out the virus, June 2020: While addressing the National Assembly, Oli claimed, “...Corona is like the flu, if contracted, one should sneeze, drink hot water and drive the virus away...” generating ridicule in the national media and social networks. He also claimed ginger, garlic and turmeric are known to have vitamins and antioxidants that can help boost the immune system to fight coronavirus.[43]
• Lord Rama is a Nepali, July 2020: While addressing a function organised to mark the 207th birth anniversary of poet Bhanubhakta Acharya, Oli said Lord Rama was born in Nepal, that he was a Nepali, and that India had made cultural aggression by creating a ‘fake’ Ayodhya.[44][45][46] He claimed Thori, a place near Birgunj in southern Nepal to be the birthplace of Rama, and that it was nearly impossible for Rama to reach Janakpur in eastern Nepal to marry Sita from Ayodhya in India. He later ordered to investigate this matter officially, asking officials in the region to study about the whereabouts of Ayodhyapuri.[47] He also claimed to have found strong evidences in his claim of the 'real' Ayodhya, including ruins supposedly of Someshwar Gadhi and Valmiki Ashram, both associated with Lord Rama.[47]

• First Oli cabinet
• Second Oli cabinet

• Official website of CPN UML