Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli removed from Nepal's ruling party amid political chaos

New Delhi: The ruling Nepal Communist Party's splinter faction led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda' on Sunday expelled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli from the party's general membership, a move that will compel new political alignments in the Himalayan State.

The decision was taken at the Standing Committee meeting of the faction led by former prime ministers Prachanda and Madhav Kumar Nepal after Oli failed to produce an explanation to his recent moves as sought by these two leaders, ET has learnt.

Earlier, the splinter group had removed Oli as the party chair. Oli is likely to revive Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) which had earlier merged with the Maoists to form Nepal Communist Party in a deal brokered by China three years back.


There are reports that Oli will seek support from the Nepali Congress and remain at the helm of power.

Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 after Oli recommended dissolving the 275-member House, amidst a tussle for power with Prachanda.

Acting on the prime minister's recommendation, President Bidya Devi Bhandari had recently dissolved the House and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10, sparking protests from a large section of the NCP led by Prachanda, also a co-chair of the ruling party. China sent emissaries to prevent a split but did not succeed.

Subsequently, Oli sent his Foreign Minister to Delhi to seek political support for his government.

Oli had said he was forced to dissolve the House after knowing that the Prachanda-led faction was planning to file a no-confidence motion against him and introduce an impeachment motion against President Bhandari.

India has described Oli's sudden decision to dissolve Parliament and call for fresh elections as an "internal matter" that is for the country to decide as per its democratic processes.