He is a former member of Nepali Congress party Central Working Committee.
[3] He served as Minister of Information and Communications during the prime minister-ship of the Sushil Koirala.
Recently, Rijal resigned as Defence minister after he was unable to win internal election of party for general secretary.
Morang-2 is the constituency from where Late PM Girija Prasad Koirala used to contest the election.
[5][6] He was also one of the architects of the mixed electoral system that ensured better social and gender diversity in the Constituent Assembly.