Gen Z Protests Fade, Old Politics Return: Why Rural Nepal’s Voters Still Bet on KP Oli

Nepal was one of the most centric topics of discussion in 2025 when protests erupted. Gen Z became a keyword for many as Kathmandu was burnt, the Prime Minister was ousted, and 71 people were killed. But the interesting thing is that it lasted for only two days, and within a few weeks, KP Oli appeared on the roads and started campaigning alongside his close aide Mahesh Basnett, with a large number of people joining in with the slogan “KP Sharma Zindabad”, mainly youth aged 21–35.

Unlike Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar, where presidents fled and never returned due to fear of being killed, in Nepal, KP Oli returned with his party cadre in Bhaktapur on 27 September 2025 and later became elected as Party Chief of CPN-UML.

What is interesting to note is that Nepal, a country in South Asia, has only tasted democracy since 1951, which was later ousted in 1960, returned again in 1990, and continued until the King was ousted in 2006. Nepal has never truly experienced stable democratic leadership, which has led to internal political instability driven by communism and Maoist movements.

A week ago in Jhapa, we spoke with a few people aged 21–25 and understood their views on instability. They don’t care, as long as they want to elect KP Oli as Prime Minister, often saying “KP ba nai aaunu huncha”, meaning “KP Oli will return again.” We were wondering what suddenly changed between urban and rural politics in Nepal, as it seems people have forgotten the Gen Z movement.

In Nepal’s politics, understanding reality is far from the social media narrative versus ground reality. Balendra Shah, known as Balen, who will be contesting against KP Oli’s strong bastion in Jhapa-5, faces a major challenge in Nepal’s political landscape.

On the other side, Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang continues media posturing about becoming Prime Minister rather than first winning an election. Other than this, Kulman Ghising, who resigned to become Power Minister, is contesting elections. At the same time, Nepal’s most talked-about social worker, Ashika Tamang, has also entered politics and will be contesting against KP Oli and Balen Shah from Kathmandu-2.

But the question is: what do actual Nepali voters want? Change in leadership? Change in Nepal? Even a 24-year-old boy, who has never experienced grassroots politics, is now trying to contest elections—something Nepal’s education reformer Mahabir Pun himself knows is frustrating within Nepal’s political system.

One of the most interesting aspects is Sudurpashchim and Karnali, where voters want dignity, development, and delivery, yet continue electing the same politicians again and again, forcing youth to migrate to India for work. There is a village in Nepal called Hokse, where people openly sell their kidneys just to survive and buy food. This area is tragically known as “Kidney Valley”, showing how pathetic rural conditions in Nepal have become.

Ramesh Babu, from Karnali, who works as a kulli in Gangtok, Sikkim, explains how dire poverty was back home. Earlier, they used to crush stones into aggregates on the banks of the Sharada River, earning 350 Nepali rupees a day. Eventually, they realised they could no longer survive in Nepal and migrated to Sikkim as labourers. In Sikkim, he earns ₹800–1000 per day, which converts to around ₹1500 Nepali rupees. He often mentioned that healthcare and education in Karnali are so poor that people keep wondering when Nepal will get good leaders who can bring real change.

Even social worker Ashika Tamang, who was distributing clothes to children in Sudurpashchim, highlighted the reality that many families cannot even afford clothes and shoes.

As people keep saying “Oli will come back again”, in other side #NoOli #OnlyBalen hastag became a trend in nepal, whether it is Balen, Oli, or anyone else, voters should not focus only on Kathmandu or Jhapa. Voters need to look at Karnali and Sudurpashchim, which struggle the most with income, infrastructure, and basic services compared to other provinces, except Madhesh Pradesh.

This will shape voter behaviour in Nepal’s 2026 elections; otherwise, the Gen Z movement will be remembered as nothing more than a trend for reels.