Rajendra Kharel (; 23 July 1946 – 21 June 2026) was a Nepali politician and long-time member of the Nepali Congress. He was elected to the Pratinidhi Sabha in the 1999 Nepalese legislative election and served as Minister of State for Education under Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai from 30 June 1999 to 20 March 2000, and subsequently as Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare in the Second Deuba cabinet under Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Early life and activism Kharel began community and civic activities in his early teens in Baneshwor, Kathmandu, including helping establish the Four Leaf (Charpat) Club, an educational and public-health initiative. He later joined the Yuwa Parichaya Goshthi (Youth Introduction Seminar), organized by Daman Nath Dhungana to promote democratic awareness during the Panchayat period. He also helped found the Ratna Library and was involved in local civic organizing in Baneshwor. Before the founding of the Nepal Student Union, he served as general secretary of an independent democratic student organization at National College (now Shanker Dev Campus), where economist Bishwambhar Pyakuryal was president.
Political career Kharel was active in Nepal's pro-democracy movement from the Panchayat era onward and was associated with senior Nepali Congress figures, including B. P. Koirala, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, and Ganesh Man Singh., He was arrested multiple times for participating in pro-democracy activities and was active during the 1980 national referendum, the 1985–86 civil disobedience campaign, the 1990 People's Movement, and the 2006 People's Movement. After the success of the 1990 movement, he helped organize the victory gathering at Khula Manch in Kathmandu.
Kharel was among Bhattarai's closest political associates, and the Nepali Congress central office reportedly operated from Kharel's Baneshwor residence during Bhattarai's tenure as party president. Kharel later aligned with the Nepali Congress (Democratic) faction led by Sher Bahadur Deuba following the party's early-2000s split.
Parliamentary and ministerial career Kharel contested parliamentary elections from Kavrepalanchok constituencies in 1991, 1994, 1999, and the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, winning only in 1999. As MP for Kavrepalanchok-3, elected in the 1999 legislative election, he was appointed Minister of State for Education in the Krishna Prasad Bhattarai cabinet on 30 June 1999, serving until the cabinet's dissolution on 20 March 2000. He later served as Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare (18 October 2001 – 24 May 2002) under Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. He also served in the interim Pratinidhi Sabha from January 2007 to January 2008.
Death Kharel died on 21 June 2026 at around 9:45 p.m. while undergoing treatment at Frontline Hospital in Baneshwor, Kathmandu. He was 80. Kharel had been receiving treatment for complications related to asthma. His death was announced by his son, Mahesh Kharel, the mayor of Panchkhal Municipality.
Electoral history 1991 Pratinidhi Sabha Election Kavre - 4 (constituency abolished 2017)
The available election source reports vote totals only for the two leading candidates. The remaining candidates - Bela Prasad Shrestha (Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Thapa)), Pitambar Upadhyaya (Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Chand)), Dhan B. Lama (Rastriya Janamorcha), Bhakti Nath Luitel (Janata Dal), and Basanta Kharel (Communist Party)—collectively received 6,167 votes (17.43% of valid votes), but their individual vote totals were not published.
1994 Pratinidhi Sabha Election Kavre - 3(constituency abolished 2017)
1999 Pratinidhi Sabha Election Kavre - 3
2008 Constituent Assembly Election Kavre - 4
Comparative table of elections ElectionsParliament of NepalConstituencyPolitical partyResultVote percentageOppositionCandidatePolitical partyVote percentage1991 2nd Kavrepalanchok 4NC23.75%8,401Govinda Nath UpretiCPN(UML)58.82% 20,8081994 3rd Kavrepalanchok 3NC46.74%14,538Govinda Nath UpretiCPN(UML)53.26% 16,5661999 4th Kavrepalanchok 3NC34.28%18,925Bidur Prasad SapkotaCPN(UML)33.34% 18,4042008 1st CA Kavrepalanchok 4NC17.89%8,418Tej Bahadur MijarUCPN (Maoist)46.93% 22,076
References