Do we like them?

Do we like KP Sharma Oli?

Our score: 4 out of 10. A long record of hard-won politics and nothing like a campaign against any group, but a deadly crackdown on his watch and a pattern of tone-deaf remarks keep this well short of support.

Oli was born in 1952 into a poor family, and was raised by his grandmother after losing his mother young. His family moved to Jhapa when he was 13, he joined a Marxist study group at 15, and he was jailed in 1973. He spent 14 years in prison for his anti-Panchayat activism, which is the formative thing that explains the stubbornness.

He climbed to become a four-time prime minister, and he left a trail of stoushes. A 2020 map that included disputed territory strained relations with India, and he dissolved the House of Representatives twice, with the Supreme Court reversing both moves. Analysts quoted by the Kathmandu Post say he developed a “superiority complex” in government and party affairs.

The end came in September 2025. His government banned 26 social media platforms, young protesters hit the streets, and police firing reportedly killed 19 people on the first day. Protesters stormed his residence the next day and set Parliament alight, and he resigned. His party then copped a historic defeat in the March election, and he lost his own seat.

On 28 March 2026 police arrested him over an alleged culpable-homicide-related case. A commission led by a former judge, Gauri Bahadur Karki, attributed the crackdown to criminal negligence and recommended he be charged. Oli has denied any role in ordering security forces to open fire, saying he was “deeply distressed” by the deaths. The Supreme Court ordered his release on 9 April, and police said the investigation continues.

On the harm test, there is no campaign against LGBTQ+ people or anyone else here. In 2024 he said “Every individual, whoever they are, should have their rights established”, then said he did not understand same-sex marriage, and activists said that left queer Nepalis facing memes and taunts. In January 2026 his interview comparing Madhesh districts to his home area was criticised by Madheshi voices as portraying them as culturally inferior, and he said no insult was intended.

The real good is thin on the page. He paid a heavy personal price for opposing the old Panchayat system, and he kept running through repeated defeats and comebacks. Beyond that, we found no charity or kind acts that stood out, and the tone he took after the crackdown was defensive rather than accountable.