Udaya Shumsher Rana
Nepalese politician
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Udaya Shumsher Rana (Nepali: उदय शमशेर राणा; born 1970)[7] is a Nepali politician and leader of the Nepali Congress who served as Minister of State for Finance from August 2017 to February 2018.[2] [8] He served as president of Nepal Tarun Dal, the youth wing of Nepali Congress, from February 2012 to November 2016. Following the special convention of Nepali Congress held in January 2026, he was elected Joint General Secretary of the party.[9][10]
Udaya Shumsher Rana | |
|---|---|
| उदय शमशेर राणा | |
| Minister of State for Finance[1] | |
| In office 22 August 2017[2] – 15 February 2018[3] | |
| President | Bidya Devi Bhandari |
| Prime Minister | Sher Bahadur Deuba |
| Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha | |
| In office 22 December 2022 – 12 September 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Nawaraj Silwal |
| Succeeded by | Buddha Ratna Maharjan |
| Constituency | Lalitpur 1 |
| Member of 2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly | |
| In office 21 January 2014 – 14 October 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Barsaman Pun |
| Succeeded by | Nawaraj Silwal |
| Constituency | Lalitpur 1 |
| President of Nepal Tarun Dal | |
| In office 5 February 2012[4][5] – 15 November 2016[6] | |
| Appointed by | Sushil Koirala |
| President | Sushil Koirala, Sher Bahadur Deuba |
| Preceded by | Mahendra Yadav |
| Succeeded by | Jeet Jung Basnet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 27, 1970 |
| Party | Nepali Congress |
| Spouse | Urvashi Singh Rana |
| Children | Ayush SJB Rana, Samar SJB Rana |
| Alma mater | Cornell University, St Stephen's College, The Lawrence School, Sanawar, St. Joseph's School, Darjeeling, St. Xavier's School, Jawalakhel |
| Website | http://udayarana.com |
Early life

Personal life
Rana was born in Lalitpur, Bagmati Province, to Sagar SJB Rana and Brinda Rana.[11] He has spent most of his formative life in both Nepal and India.[12] He is married to Urvashi Singh Rana and they have two sons Ayush and Samar.
Education
He received his primary education from St. Xavier's School Jawalakhel, Lalitpur.[11] For his secondary education he was sent to St Joseph's College (North Point) in Darjeeling[11] and completed his high school from Lawrence School, Sanawar, India.[12][11] He received his undergraduate (Bachelors in Arts) from St Stephen's College,[11] University of Delhi and holds a master's degree from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (USA).[12][11] He wrote his thesis on Nepal's foreign policy vis-à-vis India and China, which was titled "Foreign Policy of Nepal: Emphasis on relations with India and China”.[13]
Career
Rana has various publications in both Nepali and English in leading Nepali news media[14] [11] and has worked as a consultant to various NGO/INGOs including The Asia Foundation, SNV Nepal, ESPS/DANIDA and others.[11] He is currently the Advisor to the Nepal Shooting Association.[15][11]
Political career
Just like many Nepali Congress leaders, his political activism commenced in India.[11] During his educational sojourn in Delhi, he established and became the first President of Nepal Students Union, Delhi (Student organization of Nepali Congress Party).[11][12] In Delhi, he instigated protests and took out rallies in support of the ‘First People's Movement of 1989’ against the autocratic Panchayat System. His interest in global politics and economics led him to join the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) and later was elected as the Vice President.[11]

Upon returning to Nepal he devoted majority of his young days in grassroots politics.[12][11] By 1998, he was already affiliated to Nepal Tarun Dal and was serving as the district president.[11][18] While being a member of NTD, he fought his first Constitutional Assembly (CA) elections from Lalitpur Constituency No. 1 in 2008.[18][11] He lost by a narrow margin of thousand votes. Unfazed by his early loss, he redeemed himself in the Second CA elections in 2013 by defeating by opponent by a little more than 8000 votes.[18] His victory in 2013 started his legislative career.[18][11] He is currently working as a Central Working Committee Member of Nepali congress. He was elected as the Central Working Committee Member with popular votes at 14th General Convention of the Nepali Congress.[19]

As a member of parliament, he was a member of the Finance Committee 2014–17 and was also a member of three sub-committees that finalized bills that was passed by the parliament as an Act, which are as follows:[8][11]
Comparative table of elections
| Elections | Parliament of Nepal | Constituency | Political party | Result | Vote percentage | Opposition | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Political party | Vote percentage | ||||||||||
| 2008 | 1st CA | Lalitpur 1 | NC | Lost | 30.54% | Barshaman Pun | Maoist Center | 33.42% | ||||
| 2013 | 2nd CA | Lalitpur 1 | NC | Won | 42.11% | Madhusudan Paudel | CPN(UML) | 24.23% | ||||
| 2017 | 5th | Lalitpur 1 | NC | Lost | 42.21% | Nawaraj Silwal | CPN(UML) | 54.87% | ||||
| 2022 | 6th | Lalitpur 1 | NC | Won | 48.98% | Nawaraj Silwal | CPN(UML) | 39.52 | ||||
| 2026 | 7th | Lalitpur 1 | NC | Lost | 27.26% | Buddha Ratna Maharjan | RSP | 47.13% | ||||
Electoral history
2026 House of Representatives Election - Lalitpur 1
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buddha Ratna Maharjan | Rastriya Swatantra Party | 23,373 | 47.13 | |
| Udaya Shumsher Rana | Nepali Congress | 13,520 | 27.26 | |
| Chet Nath Sanjel | CPN (UML) | 6,546 | 13.20 | |
| Padam Kumar Lama | Ujyaalo Nepal Party | 2,686 | 5.42 | |
| Sunil Maharjan | Nepali Communist Party | 1,964 | 3.96 | |
| Sajina Karki | Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 652 | 1.31 | |
| Others | 855 | 1.72 | ||
| Total | 49,596 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 49,596 | 96.03 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 2,049 | 3.97 | ||
| Total votes | 51,645 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 77,737 | 66.44 | ||
| Majority | 9,853 | |||
| Rastriya Swatantra Party gain | ||||
| Source: [20] | ||||
2022 House of Representatives Election- Lalitpur 1
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Udaya Shumsher Rana | Nepali Congress | 23,892 | 48.98 | |
| Nawaraj Silwal | CPN (UML) | 19,278 | 39.52 | |
| Sachin Kumar Ghimire | Rastriya Swatantra Party | 3,277 | 6.72 | |
| Sandeep Acharya | Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 1,641 | 3.36 | |
| Others | 693 | 1.42 | ||
| Total | 48,781 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 48,781 | 96.44 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,802 | 3.56 | ||
| Total votes | 50,583 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 50,773 | 99.63 | ||
| Majority | 4,614 | |||
| Nepali Congress gain | ||||
| Source: [21] | ||||
2017 House of Representatives Election Lalitpur – 1[22]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPN (UML) | Nawaraj Silwal | 26,951 | Elected |
| Nepali Congress | Udaya Shumsher Rana | 20,729 | Lost |
2013 Constituent Assembly Election Lalitpur – 1
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | Udaya Shumsher Rana | 18,560 | Elected |
| CPN (UML) | Madhusudan Poudel | 10,682 | Lost |
2008 Constituent Assembly Election Lalitpur – 1[23]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) | Barshaman Pun | 15,329 | Elected |
| Nepali Congress | Udaya Shumsher Rana | 14,011 | Lost |