Prachanda to seek trust vote today; Oli takes a jibe at India

With Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal set to seek trust vote in the Nepalese Parliament on Tuesday, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) has issued a whip to its members to vote for the ruling coalition even as its leader K P Sharma Oli recently took a jibe at India.

Dahal, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), took over as the prime minister of Nepal on December 26 last, after breaking his party’s alliance with the Nepali Congress and tying up with the CPN (UML). He will seek the trust vote in the newly-elected Pratinidhi Sabha or the lower house of the Nepalese Parliament on Tuesday.

The CPN (MC) itself has 32 MPs in the 275-member Pratinidhi Sabha, but it has claimed the support of at least 169 MPs, including the ones owing allegiance to the CPN (UML), Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Janata Samajwadi Party, Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party.

The survival of the government led by Dahal, a.k.a. Prachanda primarily depends on Oli’s CPN (UML), which has 78 MPs in the Pratinidhi Sabha and is thus the largest party in the ruling coalition. The opposition Nepali Congress, led by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, is the single largest party.

Oli recently said that formation of the government by the CPN (UML), CPN (MC) and other parties was an important step for safeguarding the sovereignty of Nepal. He tacitly took a jibe at New Delhi, stating that some moves had been made in violation of the diplomatic norms when the process to form the government had been on after the parliamentary elections had been held in November.

Oli’s return as the ‘king-maker’ in Kathmandu caused unease in New Delhi as Nepal is one of the South Asian nations where China has been trying to elbow out India to expand its geopolitical influence.

New Delhi’s relations with Kathmandu had suffered a setback after the Oli’s government had in 2020 ratcheted up Nepal-India dispute over Lipulekh-Kalapani-Limpiyadhura area in 2020 – at a time when the Indian Army had been resisting the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s aggressive moves in eastern Ladakh. Oli had also got a new map, showing nearly 400 sq kms of India’s areas as part of Nepal, endorsed by the parliament of the country.

The relations between New Delhi and Kathmandu had returned on track after Oli had been dethroned and Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress had taken over as the prime minister in July 2021, with support from the CPN (MC).

Prachanda, however, broke his CPN (MC)’s alliance with the NC after the recent elections as Deuba was not ready to allow him to take over as the prime minister for the first half of the five-year-tenure of the government. He then took support of the Oli’s CPN (UML) to form the government and take the top office.

Oli subtly accused New Delhi of trying to change the government in Kathmandu “through the backdoor”, adding that such actions were not expected from a neighbouring nation which should not intervene in the internal affairs of Nepal. He, however, avoided naming India.