Barsaman Pun

Barsaman Pun,^[a] also known by his nom de guerre Ananta, is a Nepali communist politician and former Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.

Barsaman Pun
वर्षमान पुन
Minister of Finance of Nepal
In office 6 March 2024 – 17 July 2024
President	Ram Chandra Poudel
Prime Minister	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Preceded by	Prakash Sharan Mahat
Succeeded by	Bishnu Prasad Paudel
In office August 2011 – March 2013
President	Ram Baran Yadav
Prime Minister	Baburam Bhattarai
Preceded by	Bharat Mohan Adhikari
Succeeded by	Shankar Prasad Koirala
Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation of Nepal
In office 16 March 2018 – 25 December 2022
President	Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime Minister	KP Sharma Oli
Preceded by	Mahendra Bahadur Shahi
Succeeded by	Top Bahadur Rayamajhi
Minister of Peace and Reconstruction of Nepal
In office 14 February 2011 – April 2011
President	Ram Baran Yadav
Prime Minister	Jhalanath Khanal
Preceded by	Rakam Chemjong
Succeeded by	Bishwonath Shah
Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 March 2018
Preceded by	Krishna Bahadur Mahara
Constituency	Rolpa 1
Member of Constituent Assembly
In office 28 May 2008 – 28 May 2012
Preceded by	Sushila Nepal
Succeeded by	Udaya Shumsher Rana
Constituency	Lalitpur 1
Personal details
Born	(1971-06-01) 1 June 1971 (age 54)[1] Jangkot, Rolpa
Political party	CPN (Maoist Centre)
Spouse	Onsari Gharti Magar

Pun has previously served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Peace and Reconstruction.^[2] He was a leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre) during the insurgency period and served as one of the 4 deputy commanders of People's Liberation Army.^[3]

Insurgency

He commanded the attack on Holeri police station on February 13, 1996 which marked the beginning of the civil war.^[4] He was appointed as the PLA Eastern Division commander following the 2002 central committee meeting.^[5] Some of the battles he commanded in this capacity include the attack at Bhiman, Sindhuli in September 2002 which led to the death of 49 policemen and the attack on Bandipur barracks in May 2005.^[6] He was appointed as a deputy commander of People's Liberation Army at the Chunbang conference in 2005.^[7]

Political career

Following the Second People's movement and Comprehensive Peace Accord, Pun transitioned into politics. He was elected to the first Constituent Assembly from Lalitpur-1. He contested the second Constituent Assembly from Morang in line with the party policy of top Maoist leaders contesting the election from the Terai belt. However, he came in third place behind then Congress District Chairman Dig Bahadur Limbu and CPN-UML candidate Ghanashyam Khatiwada. He contested the 2017 House of Representatives election from his home district, Rolpa and was elected to parliament.

MCC Compact

MCC began developing the compact at the request of Nepal^[8] in 2012 when Baburam Bhattarai was prime minister and Barsaman Pun was finance minister of Nepal.^[9]

The compact was taken to parliament for ratification on 15 July 2019 when KP Sharma Oli was prime minister and Barsaman Pun the energy minister.^[10]

Electoral history

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Position	Opponent	Party		Votes	Result
2008	Constituent Assembly	Lalitpur 1		Maoist Centre	15,329	1st	Udaya Shumsher Rana		Nepali Congress	14,011	Y Elected
2013	Constituent Assembly	Morang 9			8,525	3rd	Dig Bahadur Limbu		Nepali Congress	15,202	N Defeated
2017	House of Representatives	Rolpa 1			42,084	1st	Amar Singh Pun		Nepali Congress	20,337	Y Elected
2022	House of Representatives				41,714	1st	Purna Budha Magar		CPN (UML)	16,485	Y Elected

Personal life

He is married to Onsari Gharti Magar, a fellow communist politician and former speaker of the Legislature-Parliament.^[11]

Notes

1. Also transliterated as Barsha Man Pun or Barshaman Pun.