KATHMANDU – Tens of thousands of supporters rallied for Nepal’s deposed prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Saturday, staging the Himalayan nation’s largest political gathering since youth-led anti-corruption protests toppled his government three months ago.
Police estimated 70,000 attendees at the Bhaktapur rally near Kathmandu, which launched a three-day convention for Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), or CPN-UML. Organizers had aimed for 300,000 but hailed the turnout as a resounding show of loyalty.
“This is the biggest mobilization of supporters by any party in the capital since the anti-graft protests,” said political analyst Puranjan Acharya. Those “Gen Z”-fueled demonstrations in September turned deadly, killing 77 people, injuring over 2,000, and razing key sites like the Prime Minister’s Office, Supreme Court, and Parliament. Oli and other leaders required army protection during the chaos.
The interim government under former Chief Justice Sushila Karki dissolved Parliament and pegs the unrest’s toll at over US$586 million to Nepal’s US$42 billion economy. Speaking at the rally, Oli decried the dissolution as unconstitutional and dismissed portrayals of his party as anti-youth.
CPN-UML general secretary Shankar Pokhrel echoed the sentiment, telling the crowd: “Though forced out, we still live in the hearts of the people, this massive rally proves it.” The party has petitioned Nepal’s Supreme Court to reinstate Parliament.
Over 2,000 delegates will vote for party president on Dec 15, pitting Oli against his deputy Ishwar Pokharel. The victor will steer Nepal’s largest communist faction into parliamentary elections set for March 5, heightening stakes in the nation’s fragile post-protest transition.