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🇳🇵 Nepal /Elections & Politics

How KP Sharma Oli rose, ruled and fell

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • KP Sharma Oli, a divisive figure in Nepal, has a political career marked by reversals and audacity.
  • He served as prime minister four times, navigating a system built on coalition and compromise.
  • Oli resigned as prime minister in September 2025 amidst widespread protests and violence, eventually being airlifted to safety.

KP Sharma Oli, a figure described as voluble, sharp-tongued, and self-centered to the point of hubris by some, and a nationalist with genuine mettle by others, has been Nepal's most divisive politician in the post-2015 constitutional era. His career, spanning over five decades, is a testament to relentless audacity, marked by jail terms, ailments, revolts, and repeated reinventions. Oli's journey from underground communist activism to four-time prime minister reflects a broader tension in Nepal's democratic experiment: the conflict between revolutionary origins and institutional governance, and between populist certainty and constitutional restraint.

What’s the political solution [of the current crisis] once I resign?

— KP Sharma OliKP Sharma Oli's response when asked about stepping down amidst protests and violence.

Until September 2025, Oli was the most powerful person in Nepal, leading a government backed by the Nepali Congress. However, less than a year later, his own party members considered ousting him, pushing him toward obscurity. The events leading to his downfall began on September 9, 2025, when demonstrators stormed the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar following a day of deadly police firing that killed 19 people, mostly young.

I am not going to bow down before the wrongs. I will rather die here if they kill me.

— KP Sharma OliKP Sharma Oli's defiant statement before agreeing to resign as prime minister.

Surrounded by security forces and party officials, Oli maintained an almost eerie calm as fires raged in key government buildings, including the Supreme Court, Parliament, Singha Durbar, and the presidential house. He initially dismissed suggestions of resignation, stating, "I am not going to bow down before the wrongs. I will rather die here if they kill me." However, as the situation spiraled, he agreed to resign, scrawling his resignation on plain paper due to the lack of official letterhead: "...I resign effective today’s date to pave the way for a political resolution through constitutional means..." Amidst swirling rumors about his whereabouts, a Nepal Army helicopter later airlifted him and his wife to Chitlang barracks.

...I resign effective today’s date to pave the way for a political resolution through constitutional means…

— KP Sharma OliKP Sharma Oli's written resignation statement.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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