Bishnu Prasad Paudel () is a Nepalese politician, who is the vice-chairman of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified MarxistâÂÂLeninist). Paudel served as the deputy prime minister and Minister of Finance in the Third Dahal cabinet. He has earlier served as deputy prime minister (2021), and headed other prominent ministries such as Finance (2020-2021, 2015-2016), Home Affairs (2021), Industry (2021), Water (2021, 2008-2009, 1994-1999) and Defence (2011).
He was a member of the House of Representatives elected from Rupandehi district, Parliamentary Constituency 2, in the election of the Federal Parliament held in 2017. He won the election with a huge margin of 22,000 votes at that time. During the second constituent assembly election in 2013, he defeated the former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai from Rupandehi 4.
Paudel previously served as the Minister of Finance from 5 November 2015 to 1 August 2016 in the first cabinet of prime minister KP Sharma Oli. He also served as Minister of Defence from 6 February 2011 to 29 August 2011, under Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and as the Minister for Water Resources from 18 August 2008 to 25 May 2009 under Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. He also served as the Minister for Youth, Sports and Culture in 1997 under Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand.
Bishnu Prasad Paudel was born to Devilal Paudel and Devaki Paudel on 20 November 1959 in Syangja, Nepal. He joined politics in 1976.
During the panchayat system in Nepal, he faced jail time.
In 1977, he passed the SLC examination and moved to Rupendehi from Syangja to start a career as a primary school teacher. He was influenced by communist activists. He resigned from teaching and joined the Communist Party at the age of 18.
Paudel broke out of the Bhairahawa Jail and went back to the people's movement. Paudel was taken to Bhairahawa jail with three thousand rupees fine in charge of state of affairs after facing the case for three years. He revolted in the jail after 45 days comprehensive preparation.
Paudel is a five time parliamentarian. He is one of the influential leaders of the Nepal Communist Party (UML) and had been served his third term as finance minister until Gen Z movement took place on August 8 and 9, 2025. PM KP Oli resigned on August, 9 due to the movement, in which he was a cabinet minister in Oli Government. He was elected from Palpa in the mid-term elections of 2051 and since then he has contested from Rupandehi in all five elections. He was elected four times and was defeated once in 2056. He is among the very few leaders who have been elected many times in the elections of both the party and parliament under the leadership of CPN-UML. He was an elected member in the 2nd Constituent Assembly from Rupandehi when he competed against former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who came third. He won for a fifth time from the Rupandehi 2 in 2022.
1994 Pratinidhi Sabha election Palpa-3
1999 Pratinidhi Sabha election Rupendehi-3
2008 Constituent Assembly election Rupandehi-4
2013 Constituent Assembly election Rupandehi-4
2017 Pratinidhi Sabha election Rupandehi-2
2022 Pratinidhi Sabha election Rupandehi-2