The predecessors of the CPN (UML) were the
CPN (Marxist) led by former general secretary of the
Communist Party of Nepal,
Man Mohan Adhikari, and
CPN (Marxist–Leninist), led by
Madan Bhandari. CPN (Marxist) was the successor to
CPN (Pushpa Lal) which was founded by the founding general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal,
Pushpa Lal Shrestha. CPN (Marxist–Leninist) had its origins in the
1969 Jhapa rebellion. The conflict took its inspiration from the
Naxalite movement in India and began after land reform programs were introduced by
King Mahendra in 1964. , first party chairman and first UML prime minister (1994–1995). The two parties were constituents of the
United Left Front, which was formed in 1990 to protest against the
Panchayat system. The front, along with the
Nepali Congress, helped restore
multi party democracy in the country after the
1990 revolution. On 6 January 1991, ahead of the
1991 general election, the first parliamentary elections in the country in three decades, the two parties merged to form the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) with Adhikari serving as the party's first chairman.
Post-Jana Andolan (1991–2002) In the 1991 election, the party won 69 out of 205 seats in the
House of Representatives and was the second largest parliamentary group. The congress also elected Adhikari as the party chairman and
Madan Bhandari as the general secretary. Later in the year however, Bhandari along with
Jibaraj Ashrit died in a vehicle accident in Chitwan and
Madhav Kumar Nepal became general secretary. In 1997, the party supported the minority government of
Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which lasted for seven months. Following disagreements about the
Mahakali treaty, the party faced a split in March 1998.
Bam Dev Gautam reconstituted the
CPN (Marxist–Leninist) with 46 MPs from the party. In December 1998, the party supported the
Nepali Congress–
Nepal Sadbhawana Party government which was created to hold the 1999 election. , Prime Minister (2009–2011) The Nepali Congress formed a majority government following the
1999 election and the CPN (UML) became the main opposition winning 70 seats. Following party chairman Adhikari's death in 1999, general secretary
Madhav Kumar Nepal became the leader of the party.
CPN (Burma) merged into the party on 28 June 2001 and CPN (Marxist–Leninist) reunified with the party on 15 February 2002. A group led by
C. P. Mainali opposed the unification and opted to reconstitute the
party. The party held its seventh general convention in February 2003 in Janakpur. Nepal was reelected as the general secretary and the post of party chair, which had remained vacant after the death of Adhikari, was abolished. In June 2003, general secretary Nepal was proposed as prime minister by the protesting parties but this was ignored by the king and
Surya Bahdur Thapa was appointed instead. After Thapa's resignation in May 2004, Deuba was reappointed as the prime minister. CPN (UML) also joined the cabinet with
Bharat Mohan Adhikari serving as deputy prime minister. On 1 February 2005, King Gyanendra declared a national emergency, placed all leading politicians under house arrest and assumed chairmanship of a 10-member council of ministers. CPN (UML), along with other parties in the dissolved lower house, formed the
Seven Party Alliance to end the king's direct rule, reinstate the dissolved House of Representatives and form an all-party government. The alliance also opened talks with the
CPN (Maoist) to end their armed insurgency and join mainstream politics. On 22 November 2002, the alliance signed a 12-point agreement with the Maoists to end the insurgency, abolish the monarchy and restore democratic rule to the country. Following the
2006 revolution on 24 April, King Gyanendra restored the
House of Representatives and an all-party government was formed under the leadership of
Girija Prasad Koirala. Later that year on 21 November, the
Comprehensive Peace Accord was signed between the Maoists and the Seven Party Alliance which ended the
Civil War.
Constituent Assembly (2008–2017) , Prime Minister (2011) In the
2008 election, the party won 108 out of 575 seats in the
Constituent Assembly. The party lost most of their leftist vote to the
CPN (Maoist) and general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned following his defeat in both of his constituencies and was replaced by
Jhala Nath Khanal. The party joined the coalition government with CPN (Maoist) following the election. The party's eighth general convention in February 2009 elected Khanal as the party chairman and
Ishwor Pokhrel as general secretary. Following the controversial sacking of Army Chief of Staff
Rookmangud Katawal, CPN (UML) withdrew its support from the Maoist government. In November 2009,
Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was nominated to the
Constituent Assembly, became prime minister with the support of
Nepali Congress and
Madheshi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal. His government lasted for seven months before he resigned following a political deadlock amid failure to draft the new constitution. Following seven months of political stalemate party chairman Jhalanath Khanal was elected as prime minister in February 2011 with support from the
UCPN (Maoist). He resigned six months later in August after failing to reach consensus on drafting the new constitution and completing the peace process following which the party supported the new UCPN (Maoist) government. In November 2012, ahead of the
new election,
Ashok Kumar Rai broke away from the party along with other
indigenous leaders and formed the
Federal Socialist Party, claiming that the party failed to address their concerns during the discussions for promulgation of the constitution. In the
2013 election, the party became the second largest party winning 175 out of 575 elected seats. The party joined the coalition government under the
Nepali Congress following the election with
Bam Dev Gautam serving as deputy prime minister. At the party's ninth general convention in July 2014,
K. P. Sharma Oli became party chair after defeating
Madhav Kumar Nepal, while
Ishwar Pokhrel was reelected as general secretary. After the new constitution was delivered by the coalition government, party chair
K. P. Sharma Oli was elected as prime minister on 12 October 2015 with the support of
UCPN (Maoist),
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal and other parties. After the Maoists withdrew their support, Oli resigned in July 2016 ahead of a no-confidence vote.
Left alliance and dissolution (2017–2021) In the
2017 local elections, 14,099 councilors, including 294 municipal mayors and rural chairs, were elected from the party to local governments. Candidates for the party were elected as mayors in
major cities, including the two largest cities
Kathmandu and
Pokhara Lekhnath. The party announced an alliance with the
CPN (Maoist Centre) before the
2017 legislative and
provincial elections. The party won 121 seats, becoming the largest party in the
House of Representatives, and became the largest party in six of Nepal's seven provinces. After the election, the party maintained its alliance with the
CPN (Maoist Centre) and formed
coalition governments in the centre and
six of the seven provinces. The CPN (UML) led governments in
Province 1,
Province 3,
Province 4 and
Province 5. In accordance with the agreement
Sher Dhan Rai,
Dormani Poudel,
Prithvi Subba Gurung and
Shankar Pokharel were appointed as chief ministers of their respective provinces. In the 6 February 2018
National Assembly election, the CPN (UML) won 27 of 56 contested seats and became the largest party in both houses. Party chairman Oli was elected the party's parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives and was appointed prime minister on February 15.
Bidya Devi Bhandari was re-elected
president on March 13. After eight months of planning, the Unification Coordination Committee met to finalize plans for the merger of Nepal's biggest
left-wing parties. On 17 May 2018, the party was dissolved and a new party, the
Nepal Communist Party was formed from the CPN (UML) and the
CPN (Maoist Centre). The following day, the
Election Commission formally split the party and the CPN (UML) was revived.
K. P. Sharma Oli lost a
no-confidence motion on 9 May 2021 but was reappointed as prime minister four days later after the opposition failed to prove a majority. Chief minister of Gandaki,
Prithvi Subba Gurung, resigned before a no-confidence motion and chief Minister of Lumbini,
Shankar Pokharel, also lost a no-confidence motion but were similarly reappointed after the opposition failed to prove their majority. A
cabinet meeting chaired by
prime minister and party chairman
K. P. Sharma Oli recommended that the president dissolve the House of Representatives on 22 May 2021 after members of his party, led by former prime ministers
Madhav Kumar Nepal and
Jhala Nath Khanal, supported
Nepali Congress leader
Sher Bahadur Deuba as the next prime minister. The Supreme Court reinstated the House of Representatives on 12 July 2021 and Oli resigned from his post the next day. Twenty-two members of the CPN (UML) voted for Deuba during his confidence vote, defying the party whip. The party also lost its government in
Gandaki and
Lumbini Provinces, with Gurung losing a
no-confidence motion and Pokharel resigning. Province 1 chief minister,
Sher Dhan Rai, and Bagmati chief minister
Dormani Poudel were replaced in August of that year after losing support within their parliamentary party. They were replaced by
Bhim Acharya and
Astalaxmi Shakya respectively who were elected by the parliamentary party. On 25 August 2021, former prime ministers
Madhav Kumar Nepal and
Jhala Nath Khanal split from the party along with 55 members of the
Central Committee, 25 members of the House of Representatives and seven members of the National Assembly and formed the
CPN (Unified Socialist). Other leaders also broke away from the party, with
Hridayesh Tripathi forming the
People's Progressive Party and former vice-chairman
Bam Dev Gautam forming the
CPN (Unity National Campaign). Following the split, the party lost its majority in Bagmati and Province 1 and Shakya and Acharya resigned following which the party was in opposition in all seven provinces. The
10th National Convention of the party was held in
Chitwan between 26 and 29 November 2021 with
K. P. Sharma Oli being reelected as the party chair. In the
2022 local elections, 11,929 councillors were elected from the party, including 206 mayors and rural chairs. The party lost their mayoral seats in
Kathmandu and
Pokhara and failed to win the mayoral elections in any of the six metropolitan cities in the country. The party formed electoral pacts with the
People's Socialist Party,
Rastriya Prajatantra Party and other minor parties to contest the
2022 general and
provincial elections. Former deputy prime minister and
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal chair,
Kamal Thapa, also contested the election under the party's electoral symbol. At the 2022 general election, the party won 79 seats and became the second largest parliamentary party. The party backed
CPN (Maoist Centre) chairman
Pushpa Kamal Dahal's bid to become
prime minister and joined a
coalition government under him on 26 December 2022, with
Bishnu Prasad Paudel joining the cabinet as
deputy prime minister. However, the coalition lasted less than two months. In March 2024, the party again supported CPN (Maoist Centre)'s coalition before withdrawing support for the government in July later that year. Party chairman
K. P. Sharma Oli was appointed as prime minister for the fourth time with the support of
Nepali Congress on 15 July 2024.
Gen-Z protests, 2025-present due to their support of the government of
K. P. Sharma Oli. Oli's government would be short lived as on 4 September 2025 it issued a mandate to shut down most
social media in Nepal such as
Facebook,
X,
YouTube,
LinkedIn,
Reddit,
Signal, and
Snapchat, for failing to register under the
Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The government claimed that this was to increase tax revenues on foreign social media companies, however, detractors pointed out the ban came amidst the growing backlash to the "
Nepo-Kid" trend, where children of major political parties politicians flaunted their extravagant wealth and lifestyle, mostly gained due to their parents corruption, while the average Nepali struggled economically.
Protests against the ban saw a heavy crack-down by the Oli government, with the
Nepalese Armed Forces using
live ammunition to disperse protesters as they reached the
Nepali parliament building, resulting in the death of 19 protesters. This violent crackdown only further emboldened the protesters, resulting in massive protests across the capital, which the government also cracked down on, and by the end of 8 September, 51 people had been killed by the government and more than 347 where injured. On 9 September, Oli would resign as prime minister and flee to a military barracks for protection as the protests only continued to escalate into a full scale revolution. Protesters vandalized the CPN (UML) headquarters, and burn down the house of former prime ministers and major portfolios of the party. The protests finally end during the night of 11 September going into the early morning of 12 September, as the protesters, president and army reached an agreement where former
Supreme Court chief justice
Sushila Karki was named interim prime minister until
fresh elections could be held on March 5, 2026. == Ideology ==