Jhala Nath Khanal Explained

Jhala Nath Khanal
Office:35th Prime Minister of Nepal
President:Ram Baran Yadav
Term Start:6 February 2011
Term End:29 August 2011
Predecessor:Madhav Kumar Nepal
Successor:Baburam Bhattarai
Office2:Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
Term Start2:2009
Term End2:2014
Predecessor2:Madhav Kumar Nepal
Successor2:Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli
Office3:Minister for Information and Communication
Term Start3:1997
Term End3:1998
Monarch3:Birendra of Nepal
Successor3:Surya Bahadur Thapa
Office4:Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha
Term Start4:4 March 2018
Term End4:18 September 2022
Constituency4:Ilam 1
Term Start5:May 1991
Term End5:May 1999
Predecessor5:Constituency created
Successor5:Benup Raj Prasain
Constituency5:Ilam 1
Office6:Member of Constituent Assembly
Term Start6:28 May 2008
Term End6:14 October 2017
Predecessor6:Benup Raj Prasain
Constituency6:Ilam 1
Birth Date:20 May 1950
Birth Place:Sakhejung, Ilam, Nepal
Native Name Lang:ne

Jhala Nath Khanal (Nepali: झलनाथ खनाल, in Nepali pronounced as /d͡zʱʌlʌˈnatʰ ˈkʰʌnal/; born 20 May 1950) is a Nepalese politician who was the 35th Prime Minister of Nepal from February 2011 to August 2011. He was previously the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN (UML)) and Leader of the Constituent Assembly Parliamentary Party of the CPN (UML).[1] [2]

Since 18 August 2021, he has been serving as the senior leader of the CPN (Unified Socialist), a new party formed through split in CPN (UML) citing arrogance and monopoly of the party president KP Sharma Oli.[3]

Personal life

Khanal was born in Sakhejung of Ilam District to a hill Brahmin family of the Khanal clan.

Political life

Early political career

Khanal was a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist), and was its General Secretary from 1982 to 1986. Later, he became member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist).

Government posts

Khanal served for a time as Minister of Information and Communication in the 1997 coalition government under Surya Bahadur Thapa.[4]

Khanal won the seat of the Ilam 1 constituency in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election. He led the CPN (UML) as General Secretary from 2008 to February 2009 and was elected as the Chairman of the CPN (UML) on February 16, 2009.

Premiership

On 3 February 2011, after seven months of political gridlock in which no candidate could muster enough votes to be elected as Prime Minister, Jhala Nath Khanal was elected as Prime Minister by the Constituent Assembly.[2] Khanal received 368 votes in the 601-member parliament, while his nearest rivals, Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress got 122 votes and Bijay Kumar Gachhedar of Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum (Loktantrik) got 67 votes.[2]

Nepal had no proper government since Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned in June 2010. Nepal ran interim government for nearly eight months. Sixteen rounds of voting in parliament since July were unable to produce a new Prime minister as no political party could muster a majority.[2] However, on 3 February 2011 the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) withdrew its candidate, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and backed Khanal. As a result, he became the third Prime Minister of Nepal since it became a federal democratic republic in 2008.[2]

Khanal resigned on 29 August 2011 after nearly six months after the parties failed to agree on the constitution drafting and the peace process amidst a new political crisis.[5] The extended duration of Constituent Assembly were to expire on 31 August 2011.[6] [7]

The Neapli Congress and the Madhesi parties had asked the Prime Minister to resign immediately after being unsuccessful in completing peace process and drafting a new constitution. Even the party leaders increased pressure on Mr. Khanal in order to prevent the party from notoriety.[8] [9]

Electoral history

Ilam 1
PartyCandidateVotes
CPN (UML)Jhala Nath Khanal36,805
Nepali CongressBhupendra Kattel19,638
Federal Socialist Forum, NepalSubas Rai2,059
Mongol National OrganisationSurya Kumar Gurung1,710
Others1,902
Invalid votes2,365
ResultCPN (UML) hold
Source: Election Commission
Sarlahi 1
PartyCandidateVotes
Nepali CongressShambhu Lal Shrestha9,476
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Jhala Nath Khanal8,791
Terai Madhesh Sadbhavna PartyChandra Singh Kushwaha4,588
Rastriya Prajatantra Party NepalNarayan Shrestha2,729
Terai Madhesh Loktantrik PartyGopal Panjiyar2,050
Sadbhavana PartyRup Narayan Singh Danuwar1,614
Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal (Democratic)Shiva Kumar Gurmachhane1,399
Rastriya Madhesh Samajbadi PartyJagat Narayan Shrestha1,107
Others2,466
ResultNC gain
Source: NepalNews[10]
Ilam 1
PartyCandidateVotes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Jhala Nath Khanal17,342
Nepali CongressHimalaya Karmacharya15,527
Federal Socialist Party, NepalDevendra Kumar Rai4,529
UCPN (Maoist)Yuba Kumar Paudel4,420
Others2,423
ResultCPN (UML) hold
Source: NepalNews[11]

2011 Parliamentary Prime Minister election

PartyCandidate[12] VotesStatus
CPN (UML)Jhala Nath Khanal368Elected
Nepali CongressRam Chandra Poudel122Lost
Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum (Loktantrik)Bijay Kumar Gachhadar67Lost
Ilam 1
PartyCandidateVotes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Jhala Nath Khanal17,655
Nepali CongressBenup Raj Prasai13,774
CPN (Maoist)Surya Prakash Bala10,917
Rastriya Prajatantra PartyLila Devi Shrestha2,167
Others2,040
Invalid votes2,086
ResultCPN (UML) gain
Source: Election Commission[13]
Ilam 1
PartyCandidateVotes
Nepali CongressBenup Raj Prasai18,608
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Jhala Nath Khanal18,502
Rastriya Prajatantra PartyGanesh Rasik Rai1,919
Others1,715
Invalid Votes758
ResultCongress gain
Source: Election Commission[14] [15]
Ilam 1
PartyCandidateVotes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Jhala Nath Khanal14,383
Nepali CongressToya Nath Bhattarai14,173
IndependentGopal Gurung1,611
Rastriya Prajatantra PartyChandra Kant Bhat Rai1,428
Rastriya Janamukti PartyChanra Bahadur Thulung1,030
Others508
ResultCPN (UML) hold
Source: Election Commission
Ilam 1
PartyCandidateVotes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Jhala Nath Khanal25,540
Nepali CongressToya Nath Bhattarai19,270
ResultCPN (UML) gain
Source: http://nepalresearch.org/politics/background/elections_old/election_1991_constituency_results_english.pdf

See also

Further reading

External links

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Notes and References

  1. http://jnkhanal.com/biography.html Biography of Jhala Nath Khanal
  2. Web site: Manesh Shrestha. CNN:Nepalese parliament elects new prime minister. 2011-02-06. Edition.cnn.com.
  3. Web site: माधव नेपालप्रति ओलीको टिप्पणी : सरकार ढाल्ने, अनि उनैलाई अध्यक्ष बनाउनुपर्ने ?. 2022-01-30. Online Khabar. en-US.
  4. Web site: Nepal gets new leader, but future still jittery . 4 February 2011 . 4 February 2011 . Christian Science Monitor.
  5. Web site: Kathmandu. Associated Press in. 2011-08-14. Nepal's prime minister resigns after six months in office. 2022-01-30. the Guardian. en.
  6. News: 2011-08-14. Nepalese Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal resigns. en-GB. BBC News. 2022-01-30.
  7. Web site: 2011-08-14. प्रधानमन्त्री झलनाथ खनालद्वारा पदबाट राजीनामा. 2022-01-30. BBC News नेपाली. ne.
  8. News: Jha. Prashant. 2011-08-15. Nepal's Prime Minister resigns. en-IN. The Hindu. 2022-01-30. 0971-751X.
  9. News: Chapagain. Kiran. 2011-08-14. Nepal's Prime Minister Resigns, Citing a Stalemate. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-01-30. 0362-4331.
  10. Web site: 2015-03-25. Nepalnews.com - News from Nepal as it happens. https://web.archive.org/web/20150325225411/http://vote.nepalnews.com/election/pages/bhaktapur.php#top. 2015-03-25. 2020-11-23.
  11. Web site: 2015-03-25. Nepalnews.com - News from Nepal as it happens. https://web.archive.org/web/20150325225411/http://vote.nepalnews.com/election/pages/bhaktapur.php#top. 2015-03-25. 2020-11-23.
  12. Web site: Nepalese parliament elects new prime minister. 2022-01-30. www.cnn.com. en.
  13. Web site: 2009-10-03. Ca Election report. https://web.archive.org/web/20091003184536/http://www.election.gov.np/reports/CAResults/reportBody.php. 2009-10-03. 2020-11-15.
  14. Web site: 2008-01-24. Finalised Constituencies With Top Two Candidates. https://web.archive.org/web/20080124110554/http://www.election-commission.org.np/toptwo.php. 2008-01-24. 2020-11-15.
  15. Web site: Election Results'99. 2020-11-15. nepalresearch.org.