Nepal PM Oli Expelled From Ruling Communist Party

Amid political unrest in the country, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been expelled from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on Sunday by a Central Committee Meeting of the party's splinter group as a part of disciplinary action against him.

"His membership has been revoked," the spokesperson for the splinter group, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, told ANI.

On December 20 last year, Nepal went into a political crisis after Oli recommended dissolving the 275-member parliament and hold fresh elections on April and May this year. President Bidya Devi Bhandari approved the same and dissolved the house which ignited protests from a large section of the NCP led by Prachanda – a co-chair of the ruling party.

PM Oli said he was forced to dissolve the House after knowing that the Prachanda-led faction was planning to file a no-confidence motion against him and introduce an impeachment motion against President Bhandari.

India, Nepal's immediate neighbor, maintained that the call for fresh elections was an "internal matter" and said that it is for the country to decide as per its democratic processes.

Oli-led CPN-UML and Prachanda-led NCP (Maoist Centre) merged in May 2018 to form a unified Nepal Communist Party following victory of their alliance in the 2017 general election.