Although he was born in Dhading, a neighboring district of Kathmandu, Pushparaj Kandel enrolled in grade 7 at the age of 14. This may come as a surprise, but it is true. When he was born in 2012, there was no school near his village.

The family's financial situation did not allow him to come to Kathmandu to study. Kandel's father was a farmer. Even though he had enough food, he did not have much cash. His maternal grandfather was a famous astrologer and a fortune teller. His maternal grandfather is also in Dhading.

Kandel, the eldest of four brothers and four sisters, studied rituals with his grandfather instead of studying at school and learned to read Rudri and Chandi from his grandfather. But he wanted to get formal education (school studies). Because, his great-grandfather's son, Ghanshyam Upadhyay, studied in India and taught at Tribhuvan University in Nepal.

Kandel also wanted to study a lot and become like his brother. Then, in 2026 BS, he enrolled in the 7th grade of the district's first school, Adarsh ​​High School, which opened in Gajuri, Dhading. Although he started studying late, he passed SSLC at the age of 19. After that, Kandel never had to look back. Being a diligent student, he was able to study from school to university on a scholarship.

CPN-UML leader and former Finance Minister Surendra Pandey is a classmate of the school and college. Surendra Pandey's brother and former Chief Minister of Bagmati Province, Rajendra Pandey, also studied at the same school. Kandel also became the treasurer of the student union during his school studies.

In 2030, he passed the SLC in the district and was the first in the district to pass in the second division. After that, he enrolled in ICom at Saraswati Campus in Kathmandu for higher education. Although he wanted to study in the science faculty, he could not study. Because, the school he studied in did not teach optional mathematics. To study the science faculty, he had to study optional mathematics in school.

He started studying ICom with three friends around Nardevi in ​​Kathmandu by renting a room. The room rent was usually 50 rupees per month, which the three had to pay in installments. He came to Kathmandu to study after borrowing 1300 rupees from his uncle. He passed ICom in the first division. Then he returned to the village and started teaching in the same secondary school where he studied. He used to get 292 rupees per month for teaching.

But after teaching for only a year, he came back to Kathmandu to study B.Com and enrolled in Shankardev Campus. At that time, his mother passed away. Being the eldest son of the family, he had started working along with his studies. He started working as a temporary cleaner in land reform. The salary was about 300 per month. By then, his siblings had also come to Kathmandu to study. His salary was enough to cover the education expenses of his siblings and also help out at home.

He enrolled in M.Com (postgraduate) at Shankardev Campus and passed with first class. By then, he had left his job as a cleaner and started working as an officer in the Auditor General's office. But the appointment was temporary.

Kandel had been touched by student politics since school. While studying in school, he was the treasurer of the student union. The school he attended was established by people close to the left. That is why he was close to leftist ideas.

Kandel, who started student politics from the then Akhil Panchayat while studying on campus, became the founding president of the CPN-UML's Dhading-Kathmandu Contact Forum. Then, his job was taken away for being involved in politics as a government employee.

Kandel, who was working on a temporary position, had to quit his job after his contract was not renewed. At that time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs selected him for a Chartered Accountant (CA) scholarship in India under the Colombo Plan.

However, at that time, the government led by Surya Bahadur Thapa was ousted in a no-confidence motion in Nepal and Lokendra Bahadur Chand became the Prime Minister. This change angered the Indian government and stopped the scholarship under the Colombo Plan. He was not able to study CA. After that, he taught at a school in Kathmandu for a few months.

In 2042 BS, he got a temporary job as an assistant lecturer at Saraswati Campus. After the 2046 BS movement, he automatically became permanent.

In 2054 BS, he went to India for his PhD and did his PhD from the Commerce Department of Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University on the impact of corporate tax on investment. But he did not receive his PhD medal from his hand, protesting the autocratic rule of the king.

In 2051 BS, the government made him a member of the board of directors of Nepal Lime Industry for a few months. In the meantime, he became a member of the Madan Dahal-coordinated Taxation Review Task Force formed by the Manmohan Singh government.

In 2052 BS, he was a director at the National Commercial Bank for about 3 months and after the 2062/63 BS movement, he became a director of Nepal Bank for about one and a half years. In 2075 BS, he became the vice-president of the National Planning Commission. He worked for about 3 and a half years.

Before that, in 2072 BS, he had resigned from his job at Tribhuvan University. In 2049 BS, he became a member of the Central Accounts Commission. In 2064 BS, he became the chairman of the same commission and is still the chairman.

Kandel has written more than a dozen books on Nepal's tax administration, commerce, and economy. Some of his books are based on curriculum and some are related to political economics. In the eighth general convention of UML held in 2065 BS, he even presented a proposal that federalism is not right in Nepal.