Netra Bikram Chand, commonly known as Biplav, is a radical Nepali Maoist leader who broke from mainstream Maoist parties to lead his own underground-turned-political faction. Once a commander in Nepal’s civil war, he waged an armed struggle through his group until a 2020 peace deal. Politically, he advocates for revolutionary change, but also engages with mainstream politics — in 2024 he became the coordinator of the Socialist Front; by 2025, he withdrew, calling the alliance irrelevant. His faction remains controversial, previously outlawed, and has been accused in bombings and extortion, but he continues to play a fluctuating role in Nepal’s left-wing landscape.
