KP Sharma Oli's journey from spending 14 years in prison to becoming Nepal's Prime Minister
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli
Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is not a traditional politician. He is a school dropout and was sent to jail at the age of 22, not for any civil offence but for the murder of Dharma Prasad Dhakal, a farmer in eastern Nepal.
It is something that Oli doesn’t talk about much. He was born in 1952 in eastern Nepal. Oli was called "Dhruba" as a child and raised by his grandmother. His mother died due to smallpox when he was just four.
At the age of 18, he signed up for the Communist Party andalmost immediately he was arrested. Oli spent 14 years in prison.
The Nepali prime minister rarely refers to his time in jail but those who know him say he was moulded by his experiences there. Oli was released after getting a royal pardon in the mid-1980s.
Oli got a break in politics when he was elected to Parliament in 1991. He was one of the strongest critics of the Maoists throughout the insurgency that left 17,000people dead.
)
Indian man sends explicit text to 14-year-old in UK, gets caught while trying to meet her: VIDEO
)
Iran War Fuels Shipping's Biggest Payday
)
Who is Jin Ze? Chinese TV and short-drama actor passes away at 33, agency confirms
)
Peddi Row: Leaked chats and make-up artist reveal Janhvi Kapoor objected to oversexualized shots, but was ignored
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
‘Headlight drain’: Does driving with your daytime lights on cost you extra fuel?
)
'Trap to kill him': Indian man shot dead in US after delivering pizza
)
'Erika told Usha between sobs...': JD Vance reportedly reveals what convinced his wife for fourth child
)
Musk says India's birth rate has fallen below 'replacement level': What the term means and what official data reveals? | WION Decodes
)
Something big ahead? Lebanese army chief visits Pakistan amid reports of link to US-Iran negotiations
)
Mumbai concert tragedy: 28-year-old man dies after falling ill during live music event at Worli Dome
)
Trump secretly consulting nuclear experts amid renewed Iran attacks? What report claims
)
Teach You a Lesson review: Kim Mu Yeol's k-drama delivers brutal fight against a broken education system
)
Queen Elizabeth's grandson Peter Phillips marries Harriet Sperling; King Charles, William and Kate attend
)
‘Strait of Hormuz is our nuclear bomb’: Iranian official’s EXPLOSIVE remark amid tensions with US
)
For the first time, Air Force to transport NEET question papers ahead of June 21 exam
)
Trump shares AI-video of himself riding bike in India, lion in jungle: What is it about
)
Who Is Kevin Kunta? Meet Ram Charan’s bodyguard, MMA fighter, who reportedly charges Rs 2–3 lakh per day
)
India A Tri-Series in Sri Lanka 2026: Full schedule, venues, squads, timings & live-streaming details
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Dhruv Rathee’s scriptwriter, journalist, IIT alumnus: Who are the 3 spokespersons announced by CJP?
)
Indians on H-1B visas exit Texas and its housing boom is dying. Other states could see similar decline
)
Old praise, new problems: Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson Saurav Das's 9-year-old tweet faces scrutiny
)
Indian mangoes make inroads into the US market with Seattle event
)
Wonderful World | A once-in-a-century celestial event: The 6-minute solar eclipse that will turn day into night
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How often should you restart your phone? Samsung & NSA have different answers
)
NASA satellite spots strongest sign of Super El Nino, confirming all predictions - What to expect?
)
Delhi hotel owner helped Bangladeshi nationals get fake Indian documents, was arrested and booked last year
)
'Cockroach, memes & reels': Why Indian GenZ's AI knowledge gap is at least 40 years behind from rest of the world
)
'Future doesn't look bright': Indian GenZ was busy debating Cockroach Janta Party, AI quietly took their jobs in last 1 month
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
$50,000 vs $3.50: How the future of air defence could be this cheap
)
Who is Abhilasha Barak? India's first woman combat helicopter pilot wins UN Military Gender Advocate Award
)
WION Decodes | India's fertility rate is falling: What does it mean for the economy and society?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Meet top 5 players with most runs in Women's World Cup history
It was also the phase whenhe developed a rivalry with Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Prachanda wentthe other way, he launched an armed insurgency and adopted Maoism to finish the monarchy.
When the peace process ended in 2006, Prachanda won big. He was elected prime minister first in 2008then once again in 2016.
Nepal underwent a transition as monarchy gave way to a secular, federal republic with coalition governments becoming the norm.
It was the transition that also brought Oli and Prachanda together. They decided to contest the 2017 elections together and merged their parties. Two years later, the daggers have been drawn again.
Today, KP Sharma Oli is known as the face of "Nepali nationalism”but it wasn’t the case earlier. In 1996, Oli had split from his own partyjust because he wanted to support the India-Nepal agreement over the Mahakali river water-sharing agreement.
Oli’s shift to China is fairly recent driven by political and economic considerations. In 2016, he signed a deal with Beijing that gave Nepal access to dry ports and rail links from China for the first time since thenthe partnership has only grown from strength to strength.
Today, China drives the political choices of Oli, choices that have damaged India’s ties with Nepal, choices that have brought Oli to the brink of his ouster. The Nepal prime minister could end up paying a heavy price for an alliance with Beijing.