Leader of the Opposition (Nepal)

The Leader of the Opposition (Nepali: विपक्षी नेता) is an elected member of the Pratinidhi Sabha, who leads the official opposition in the lower house of the federal parliament. The leader of the opposition is the parliamentary party leader of the political party with the largest number of seats in the house but not in government.[1] The position is currently vacant since 12 September 2025, following the dissolution of the Pratinidhi Sabha by the president in the aftermath of the Gen Z protests.[2]

Leader of Opposition
Incumbent
Vacant
since 12 September 2025
StyleLeader of the Opposition
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(formal)
Member of
Term lengthWhile leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government

List

Leaders of Opposition in the Pratinidhi Sabha
No. Portrait Name Party Assumed office Left office Prime Minister Term
1 Bharat Shumsher JBR NRGP 27 May 1959 15 December 1960 B. P. Koirala 1st Pratinidhi Sabha
2 Man Mohan Adhikari CPN (UML) 26 May 1991 30 November 1994 Girija Prasad Koirala 2nd Pratinidhi Sabha
3 Sher Bahadur Deuba Nepali Congress 30 November 1994 12 September 1995 Man Mohan Adhikari 3rd Pratinidhi Sabha
(2) Man Mohan Adhikari CPN (UML) 12 September 1995 12 March 1997 Sher Bahadur Deuba
(3) Girija Prasad Koirala[3] Nepali Congress 12 March 1997 7 October 1997 Lokendra Bahadur Chand
(2) Man Mohan Adhikari CPN (UML) 7 October 1997 15 April 1998 Surya Bahadur Thapa
15 April 1998 23 December 1998 Girija Prasad Koirala
4 Bam Dev Gautam CPN (ML) 23 December 1998 31 May 1999
5 Madhav Kumar Nepal CPN (UML) 31 May 1999 22 May 2002 Krishna Prasad Bhattarai 4th Pratinidhi Sabha
Girija Prasad Koirala
Sher Bahadur Deuba
28 April 2006 18 August 2008 Girija Prasad Koirala Interim Legislature
6 Girija Prasad Koirala Nepali Congress 18 August 2008 25 May 2009 Pushpa Kamal Dahal 1st Constituent Assembly
7 Pushpa Kamal Dahal UCPN (Maoist) 25 May 2009 6 February 2011 Madhav Kumar Nepal
8 Ram Chandra Paudel[4] Nepali Congress 6 February 2011 14 March 2013 Jhala Nath Khanal
Baburam Bhattarai
(7) Pushpa Kamal Dahal UCPN (Maoist) 11 February 2014 11 October 2015 Sushil Koirala 2nd Constituent Assembly
9 Sushil Koirala Nepali Congress 11 October 2015 9 February 2016 K. P. Sharma Oli
(3) Sher Bahadur Deuba 7 March 2016[5] 24 August 2016
10 K. P. Sharma Oli CPN (UML) 24 August 2016 15 February 2018 Pushpa Kamal Dahal Legislature Parliament
Sher Bahadur Deuba
(3) Sher Bahadur Deuba Nepali Congress 15 February 2018 13 July 2021 K. P. Sharma Oli 5th Pratinidhi Sabha
(10) K. P. Sharma Oli CPN (UML) 13 July 2021 26 December 2022 Sher Bahadur Deuba
(3) Sher Bahadur Deuba[6] Nepali Congress 26 December 2022 27 February 2023 Pushpa Kamal Dahal 6th Pratinidhi Sabha
(10) K. P. Sharma Oli[7] CPN (UML) 27 February 2023 4 March 2024
(3) Sher Bahadur Deuba Nepali Congress 4 March 2024 15 July 2024
(7) Pushpa Kamal Dahal[8][9] CPN (Maoist Centre) 15 July 2024 12 September 2025 K. P. Sharma Oli

References

  1. ^ Kamat, Ram Kumar (2023-01-23). "Who is the leader of opposition in HoR?". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  2. ^ "President dissolves HoR, elections on March 5, 2026". myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com. 2024-08-08. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
  3. ^ Khanal, Y. N. (1998). "Nepal in 1997: Political Stability Eludes". Asian Survey. 38 (2): 148–154. doi:10.2307/2645672. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 2645672.
  4. ^ Gurubacharya, Binaj (2023-03-09). "Nepal elects new president amid political uncertainty". AP News. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  5. ^ "Deuba is the new Nepali Congress President".
  6. ^ "NC recognised as main opposition party". Archived from the original on 2024-05-12. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  7. ^ "UML pulls out of government".
  8. ^ "Nepal's prime minister loses a confidence vote forcing him to step down". AP News. 2024-07-12. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  9. ^ Sharma, Bhadra; Chutel, Lynsey (2024-07-12). "Nepal's Prime Minister Loses Confidence Vote, Adding to the Turmoil of Monsoon Season". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-14.