The UML traces its roots to the establishment of the Communist Party of Nepal on April 22, 1949. The UML played a significant role in the struggle for democracy, taking part in the interim government that followed the restoration of democracy in 1990 and in the process of drafting the 1990 Constitution. In 1992, the party declared its full support for multi-party democracy. The party’s organization is said to be highly disciplined. The party bosses have firm control over its party cadres and the party’s message. Thus, while the UML has internal factions it projects an image of strong unity.

The party has most often served as the main opposition party, except following the 1994 elections when it led a short-lived minority administration, giving Nepal its first communist and first minority government. With no other party willing to join it in any form of coalition, the UML soon fell from power. In 1998, the party splintered over the issue whether to endorse the Indo-Nepal Mahakali River Treaty; the anti-Mahakali group formed the Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist-Leninist (CPN-ML); the two factions reunited in 2002, but not before their divisions led to a disappointing showing in the 1999 elections. UML adheres to Marxism and Leninism as its guiding principles; nonetheless, the party has become increasingly moderate even ‘soft’, with its consistent message that it represents the poor, oppressed, and the exploited.

Jhal Nath Khanal has succeeded Madhav Kumar Nepal as the UML’s General Secretary following the latter’s resignation in April 2008. There are 13 Standing Committee members including two alternative members of the Standing Committee. Similarly there are 27 Central Committee members with 14 alternative Central Committee members.

The UML manifesto proposes both the President and Prime Minister to be directly elected and the nation to be divided into federal units on ethnicity, linguistics, culture, history, and geography. The 1991 parliamentary elections saw 69 UML members elected. Later, the 1994 elections transformed the party into the largest party as it secured 88 out of 205 seats. In 1999, the UML was again pushed back to the second position securing just 69 out of 205 seats. After its third place showing in the CA elections, when it won just 103 out of 601 seats despite predictions it would emerge as the majority party, many questioned whether years in the political wilderness, pressure from the Maoists, and the king’s regime had taken a toll on the UML. Splitting the left vote with the Maoists, especially those of the poor and exploited classes, inconsistent positions on issues including participation in one of King Gyanendra’s governments in 2003, and support for the Maoist’s proposal in the Legislature-Parliament in 2007 have been quoted as reasons for the UML’s poor performance. Considerably moderate than the Maoists, much more defined than the NC, the UML did not offer a single lucid message that differentiated it from other parties. The party’s organization also offered a visible target to the CPN-Maoist, which openly targeted UML leaders, cadres, and even voters during the period leading up to the CA elections.

Despite being a key member of the Seven Party Alliance, the UML has often been sidelined by the NC and the CPN-Maoist during the subsequent period of transition; the party’s consensus-based decision-making makes it the most moderate and flexible, but also the most abused of the major coalition parties.