AL JAZEERA ONLINE

The leader of Nepal’s recent youth-led protests that toppled the government within days has announced he will run in the country’s March general elections, saying his movement will “fight till the end” to build a people’s government.

In an exclusive interview with Start Here’s Sandra Gathmann, Sudan Gurung said his group is already mobilising supporters nationwide to form a “movement for change” rather than a traditional political party.

“They have dragged us into politics,” he said about the former government of “selfish” and “corrupt” politicians. “If it’s politics they want, that’s what they’ll get. We will be running for the next election because we are not going to back down now.”

Gurung, 36, rose to prominence as the face of a grassroots uprising led largely by Nepal’s Gen Z.

The demonstrations erupted after the government blocked social media platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube, saying the companies had failed to register and submit to government oversight.

But the protests soon spiralled into broader discontent, fuelled by anger over alleged corruption, state violence and impunity. Dozens of young demonstrators were killed, and thousands more were injured.

Gurung believes his movement is ready to govern, with volunteers forming legal and communications committees and gathering policy demands from across the country, through platforms such as Discord, which was used to mobilise during the protests, and Instagram.

He said his team is working to ensure “that every voice of the Nepalese people is heard”.

Gurung is unlikely to register as an independent candidate, and instead plans to run “as a group”.

“If I just run as an independent candidate, we won’t have this force of youths,” he said. “Together, we are stronger.”

The movement has pledged to run on a broad agenda beyond anticorruption. It plans on working to boost Nepal’s tourism sector, strengthening relations with neighbours India and China without “external interference”.

“We need to respect them, they need to respect us,” Gurung said.

He said he does not want to see the old political guard contesting the March vote and urged interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki to speed up investigations into graft and killings of protesters.

“We’ll be sure that the investigation is done properly, on time, so that they won’t participate [in the elections],” Gurung said.

When asked whether he wants to become PM himself, Gurung said, “I won’t say I am the right person right now … but if the people choose me, I am definitely going to run.”

He also spoke of attempts to silence him.

Despite the intimidation, he struck a defiant tone.

“I’m not scared … just killing me won’t do anything,” Gurung said. “I need to save my nation because it’s now or never.”