# Jhala Nath Khanal

Jhala Nath Khanal (Nepali: झलनाथ खनाल, ; born 20 May 1950) is a Nepalese politician who was the 35th Prime Minister of Nepal from February 2011 to August 2011. He was previously the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN (UML)) and Leader of the Constituent Assembly Parliamentary Party of the CPN (UML).
Since 18 August 2021, he has been serving as the senior leader of the CPN (Unified Socialist), a new party formed through split in CPN (UML) citing arrogance and monopoly of the party president KP Sharma Oli.

## Personal life

Khanal was born in Sakhejung of Ilam District to a hill Brahmin family of the Khanal clan.

## Political life
### Early political career

Khanal was a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist), and its General Secretary from 1982 to 1986. Later, he became a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist).

### Government posts

Khanal served for a time as Minister of Information and Communication in the 1997 coalition government under Surya Bahadur Thapa.
Khanal won the seat of the Ilam 1 constituency in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election. He led the CPN (UML) as General Secretary from 2008 to February 2009 and was elected Chairman of the CPN (UML) on February 16, 2009.

### Premiership

On 3 February 2011, after seven months of political gridlock in which no candidate could muster enough votes to be elected as Prime Minister, Jhala Nath Khanal was elected Prime Minister by the Constituent Assembly. Khanal received 368 votes in the 601-member parliament, while his nearest rivals, Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress got 122 votes and Bijay Kumar Gachhedar of Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum (Loktantrik) got 67 votes.
Nepal had no proper government since Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned in June 2010. Nepal ran interim government for nearly eight months. Sixteen rounds of voting in parliament since July were unable to produce a new Prime minister as no political party could muster a majority. However, on 3 February 2011 the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) withdrew its candidate, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and backed Khanal. As a result, he became the third Prime Minister of Nepal since it became a federal democratic republic in 2008.
Khanal resigned on 29 August 2011 after nearly six months after the parties failed to agree on the constitution drafting and the peace process amidst a new political crisis. The extended duration of Constituent Assembly were to expire on 31 August 2011.
The Neapli Congress and the Madhesi parties had asked the Prime Minister to resign immediately after being unsuccessful in completing peace process and drafting a new constitution. Even the party leaders increased pressure on Mr. Khanal in order to prevent the party from notoriety.

## Electoral history
### 2017 legislative elections

Ilam 1 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | CPN (UML) | Jhala Nath Khanal | 36,805 |
| | Nepali Congress | Bhupendra Kattel | 19,638 |
| | Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal | Subas Rai | 2,059 |
| | Mongol National Organisation | Surya Kumar Gurung | 1,710 |
| | Others | Others | 1,902 |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 2,365 |
| Result | Result | CPN (UML) hold | CPN (UML) hold |
| Source: Election Commission ||||

### 2013 Constituent Assembly election

Sarlahi 1 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Nepali Congress | Shambhu Lal Shrestha | 9,476 |
| | CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | Jhala Nath Khanal | 8,791 |
| | Terai Madhesh Sadbhavna Party | Chandra Singh Kushwaha | 4,588 |
| | Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal | Narayan Shrestha | 2,729 |
| | Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party | Gopal Panjiyar | 2,050 |
| | Sadbhavana Party | Rup Narayan Singh Danuwar | 1,614 |
| | Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal (Democratic) | Shiva Kumar Gurmachhane | 1,399 |
| | Rastriya Madhesh Samajbadi Party | Jagat Narayan Shrestha | 1,107 |
| | Others | Others | 2,466 |
| Result | Result | NC gain | NC gain |
| Source: NepalNews ||||
Ilam 1 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | Jhala Nath Khanal | 17,342 |
| | Nepali Congress | Himalaya Karmacharya | 15,527 |
| | Federal Socialist Party, Nepal | Devendra Kumar Rai | 4,529 |
| | UCPN (Maoist) | Yuba Kumar Paudel | 4,420 |
| | Others | Others | 2,423 |
| Result | Result | CPN (UML) hold | CPN (UML) hold |
| Source: NepalNews ||||

### 2011 Parliamentary Prime Minister election

| Party | Candidate | Votes | Status |
| CPN (UML) | Jhala Nath Khanal | 368 | Elected |
| Nepali Congress | Ram Chandra Poudel | 122 | Lost |
| Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum (Loktantrik) | Bijay Kumar Gachhadar | 67 | Lost |

### 2008 Constituent Assembly election

Ilam 1 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | Jhala Nath Khanal | 17,655 |
| | Nepali Congress | Benup Raj Prasai | 13,774 |
| | CPN (Maoist) | Surya Prakash Bala | 10,917 |
| | Rastriya Prajatantra Party | Lila Devi Shrestha | 2,167 |
| | Others | | 2,040 |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 2,086 |
| Result | Result | CPN (UML) gain | CPN (UML) gain |
| Source: Election Commission ||||

### 1999 legislative elections

Ilam 1 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Nepali Congress | Benup Raj Prasai | 18,608 |
| | CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | Jhala Nath Khanal | 18,502 |
| | Rastriya Prajatantra Party | Ganesh Rasik Rai | 1,919 |
| | Others | Others | 1,715 |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 758 |
| Result | Result | Congress gain | Congress gain |
| Source: Election Commission ||||

### 1994 legislative elections

Ilam 1 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | Jhala Nath Khanal | 14,383 |
| | Nepali Congress | Toya Nath Bhattarai | 14,173 |
| | Independent | Gopal Gurung | 1,611 |
| | Rastriya Prajatantra Party | Chandra Kant Bhat Rai | 1,428 |
| | Rastriya Janamukti Party | Chanra Bahadur Thulung | 1,030 |
| | Others | Others | 508 |
| Result | Result | CPN (UML) hold | CPN (UML) hold |
| Source: Election Commission ||||

### 1991 legislative elections

Ilam 1 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | Jhala Nath Khanal | 25,540 |
| | Nepali Congress | Toya Nath Bhattarai | 19,270 |
| Result | Result | CPN (UML) gain | CPN (UML) gain |
| Source: ||||