Kulman Ghising Expresses Desire to Lead the Nation as ‘Ujyaloo Nepal Party’ Unveils Political Agenda

The newly announced Ujyaloo Nepal Party, formed under the guardianship of Energy, Water Resources and Urban Development Minister Kulman Ghising, has proposed introducing a proportional and inclusive electoral system as its core political agenda.

According to the party’s manifesto, the current mixed electoral system has failed to deliver strong and stable governments, making reforms essential to ensure inclusive representation.

The party publicly released its long-term vision, ideological approach, and detailed manifesto at a formal announcement event held at Pragya Bhawan, Kamaladi, on Wednesday. Supporters and members attended the event wearing green caps featuring the party flag and its election symbol, the “Burning Lamp (बालेको चिम)”.
Slogans such as “Good Governance, Prosperity and Social Justice” and “Ujyaloo Nepal: Ujyaloo Bhavishya” were highlighted as guiding principles.

Agenda Calls for Structural Review of Provinces and Local Levels

The Ujyaloo Nepal Party has proposed a review of the number and structure of provinces and local units.
Key political agendas include:

• A directly elected Chief Minister with a five-member cabinet at the provincial level
• Provision to appoint non-parliamentary experts as federal ministers (except Foreign, Home, and Defence Ministers, who must be chosen from Parliament)

The party has positioned itself as a platform for technocrats, intellectuals, and professionals.

Intellectuals Take Leading Roles in the Party

The 51-member Central Committee includes a large number of doctors, engineers, academics, and professionals. The party is chaired by former Energy Secretary Anup Kumar Upadhyaya, who also comes from an engineering background.

Among the 51 members are 13 doctors, professors, and engineers, including:

• Engineers: Shankar Dhakal, Tejnarayan Yadav, Nilima Basnet, Dipendra Jamarkattel, Arvind Sah, Rajendra Shahi
• Doctors: Dr Tara Prasad Joshi, Dr Mahendra Sundar Lawati, Dr Sagar Dhakal, Dr Abhishek Raj Singh, Dr Raju Thapa, Dr Bishal Bhandari, Dr Ashutosh Vijay Pant

Prominent artist and television presenter Rima Bishwakarma is also a central committee member (listed at number 9).

Former Education Minister Sumana Shrestha attended the announcement ceremony, fueling earlier speculation that she would join the party. However, her name is not included in the list of central committee members.

The party submitted its application for registration at the Election Commission on 11 August (श्रावण २७), and received its registration certificate on 21 November (मंसिर ५). Its election symbol has been confirmed as the Burning Lamp.

Kulman Ghising: “I Want to Lead the Nation Through Elections”

Speaking at the announcement ceremony, Minister Kulman Ghising said he now wishes to contest elections and lead the country.
He expressed happiness that the Ujyaloo Nepal campaign—originally launched during his tenure as NEA Executive Director with the support of former energy secretary Upadhyaya—has now evolved into a political party.

Ghising said:

“Whenever the country faces a crisis, I have always been present. I was given the opportunity to free Nepal from load-shedding. I was removed from NEA eight months before my term ended, and later became a minister. Now, I want to lead the nation.”

He emphasized that Nepal lacks leaders capable of delivering good governance, prosperity, and development.

According to Ghising:

“Political leaders succeeded in bringing political changes but failed to bring economic transformation. The country has suffered due to the absence of capable leadership. We need to choose the right people, not just our own people.”

“Good Governance Is the Foundation of Prosperous Nepal”

Ghising said leadership fails when leaders lose the trust of the people.

“Leadership is not proven by speeches but by work. If leaders lose credibility, misgovernance will dominate.”

He said he always prioritized service delivery and public satisfaction wherever he worked.

Ghising added that the Gen-Z movement, which led recent political waves, must now be institutionalized through the upcoming March 4 (फागुन २१) election.

He emphasized that corruption-free governance remains the main demand of young citizens and that individuals committed to transforming Nepal must enter politics.

Ujyaloo Nepal Party’s 11 Key Political Agendas

1. Adoption of a proportional and inclusive electoral system
2. Review the structure and number of provinces and local units
3. Directly elected Chief Minister with a five-member provincial cabinet
4. Creation of a Provincial Council comprising local leaders; removal of the provincial MP system
5. Experts outside Parliament eligible for federal ministerial roles, except for Foreign, Home, and Defence
6. Ensure a newly elected Prime Minister leads the government for half of the parliamentary term
7. Ban individuals from contesting elections more than twice consecutively from the same constituency
8. Allow proportional and nominated MPs to serve only one term
9. Conduct non-party local elections
10. Restructure the Judicial Council to prevent political interference
11. Support constitutional amendments demanded by the majority of citizens