35 Facts About Upendra Yadav

Upendra Yadav is a Nepalese politician who has twice served as Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal and as the chairman of the People's Socialist Party, Nepal from 2020 until 2023.

Upendra Yadav was previously a Minister of Health and Population.

Upendra Yadav served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Dahal cabinet from 2008 to 2009 and in the Khanal cabinet in 2011.

Upendra Yadav grew up in Madhuwan and completed his SLC examinations there in 1975.

Upendra Yadav completed his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Hattisar College in Dharan and his master's degree in law at Mahendra Morang Adarsh Multiple Campus in Biratnagar.

Upendra Yadav was involved in protests against the panchayat system as far back as 1975.

Upendra Yadav was involved in the 1979 student protests and was arrested in Biratnagar and was imprisoned for fourth months.

Upendra Yadav was arrested in 1985 at Kathmandu and imprisoned for a year for participating in a Satyagraha organized by Nepali Congress.

Upendra Yadav joined the CPN in 1991 and contested for the House of Representatives from Sunsari 4 in the same year.

Upendra Yadav gained 8,672 votes but finished a distant second.

Upendra Yadav served as the district leader of Sunsari and Morang district during his time in the party.

Upendra Yadav founded the Madheshi Jana Adhikar Forum in the mid-1990s along with Nepali Congress leader Jay Prakash Gupta as a non-governmental organization that advocated for Madheshi rights.

In February 2004 Upendra Yadav was arrested in New Delhi along with Maoist party members Matrika Upendra Yadav and Mohan Baidya.

Upendra Yadav was released after two months while the others were handed over to Nepalese authorities in 2006.

Upendra Yadav was again arrested on 16 January 2007 in Kathmandu along with MP Amaresh Kumar Singh and a dozen others after they burned copies of the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007 after it did not address the issue of federalism and greater political representation from the Terai in the parliament and the constituent assembly.

Upendra Yadav registered the organization as a political party on 26 April 2007 to contest the constituent assembly elections.

Upendra Yadav was elected to the 1st Nepalese Constituent Assembly from Sunsari 5 at the 2008 elections.

Upendra Yadav served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in a coalition government with the CPN from August 2008 to May 2009 and again in a coalition government with CPN in 2011.

Upendra Yadav was a member of the State Affairs Committee of the Constituent Assembly.

Upendra Yadav retained his seat in the 2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly from Sunsari 5 at the 2013 elections.

Upendra Yadav served as the parliamentary party leader of MJF and served as a member of the Constitutional-Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee.

Upendra Yadav served as co-chairman of the new party along with Rajendra Prasad Shrestha.

Upendra Yadav contested the 2017 elections to the House of Representatives from Saptari 2 and was elected.

Upendra Yadav was a member of the Education and Health Committee of the House of Representatives.

Upendra Yadav served as the Deputy Prime Minister in a coalition government with the Nepal Communist Party from June 2018 to December 2019.

Upendra Yadav's party merged with the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal in 2020 to form the People's Socialist Party.

Upendra Yadav served as co-chairman of the party with Mahantha Thakur until Thakur split off to form the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal.

Upendra Yadav contested the 2022 elections to the House of Representatives from Saptari 2 again but lost to Janamat Party chairman Chandra Kant Raut by a margin of over 18,000 votes.

Upendra Yadav has been accused of being linked to Hindu extremist groups and in December 2006 publicly supported the notion of Nepal as a Hindu nation at a program of right-wing Hindu groups in Gorakhpur, India.

Upendra Yadav has been accused of focusing on Yadavs instead of the greater Madheshi community.

Upendra Yadav was criticized by some for supporting Nepali Congress candidate Ram Baran Yadav instead of CPN candidate Ram Raja Prasad Singh.

Upendra Yadav had been criticized for the Gaur incident where dozens of CPN cadres were left dead following violent clashes with cadres of Madheshi Jana Adhikar Forum.

Upendra Yadav was supposed to address a mass meeting of MJFN supporters in Gaur, Rautahat, the Madhesh Mukti Morcha of CPN were holding their rally at the same venue.

Once a major activist for Madheshi people, Upendra Yadav has been criticized for forgetting Madhesh-centric issues as he became more active in national politics.

Upendra Yadav is married to Parbati Upendra Yadav with whom he has two children, a son and a daughter.