In a dramatic twist to Nepal’s ongoing power struggle, former CPN-UML vice-chair Dr. Bhim Rawal has mockingly proposed forming a new party taskforce to study Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s age, after Oli suggested that his 14 years spent in jail should be deducted from his official age. The debate exploded in Saturday’s politburo meeting, where Oli argued that unless the party’s 70-year age limit was scrapped, those years behind bars ought to be subtracted—effectively making him 59, not 73, and thus eligible to cling to the leadership for years to come.

Dr. Rawal, quick to seize the moment, took to X (formerly Twitter), suggesting that not just prison time, but also childhood years, time spent sleeping, and periods of illness should be counted out of one’s political age. The sarcasm struck a nerve within the party, amplifying the rift between advocates of generational change and defenders of entrenched power.

The episode comes at a time when the UML is embroiled in fierce debate over both age and term limits for party leadership. While the central secretariat and politburo have endorsed amendments to the party statute, the crucial central committee is yet to weigh in, with its high-stakes meeting now underway. The controversy has sparked a wave of public skepticism and social media satire, with many questioning whether such “mathematical tricks” are a genuine path to leadership renewal—or just a thinly-veiled bid by Oli to rewrite the rules in his own favor.

Within the UML, some leaders have openly challenged the wisdom of manipulating age limits, warning that it risks eroding both democratic values and internal accountability. For party members hoping for a new generation of leadership, the current spectacle raises unsettling questions: Will creative arithmetic be the new norm in Nepali politics, or will it catalyze a broader movement for authentic change? The nation watches closely as the debate over age, power, and principles takes center stage—uncertain which precedent will ultimately shape the future of Nepali democracy.