Nepal: Signs of rift in Nepal’s ruling coalition; Clouds of crisis on the future of Dahal government
There are signs of a rift in Nepal’s ruling coalition. The leaders of the parties involved in the alliance have recently openly criticized Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Dahal has formed the ‘Socialist Front’ along with some leftist parties. Regarding this issue, a series of allegations and counter-allegations has started among the constituents of the ruling coalition.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist), a member of the ruling coalition, organized a meeting on Friday. Addressing him, party president Madhav Kumar Nepal alleged that former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was in touch with the Nepali Congress. Nepal claimed that Oli has offered to support the Nepali Congress to form the government. Oli is the president of the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (UML).
Nepal said what an irony! One communist party is trying to topple the government headed by another communist party and is ready to join hands with crony capitalist Sher Bahadur Deuba to form the government. Former Prime Minister Deuba is the President of the Nepali Congress. Nepali Congress is the largest party in the ruling coalition. The Nepali Congress is also the largest party in the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament.
According to media reports, Madhav Kumar Nepal’s allegation has merit. The Nepali Congress and the UML are in informal talks on the possibility of forming a new political alliance. A leader of the Nepali Congress told the newspaper Kathmandu Post on condition of anonymity – “Some disgruntled leaders of the Nepali Congress have held informal talks with the UML. The talks are still in the initial stage, but observers have said that it is not possible if the talks are not cleared by Deuba.
In this connection, a statement of Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa is also being considered important. The newspaper Kantipur Daily asked Thapa a question about this. Then he did not rule out the possibility of such talks.
Deuba is currently in Singapore for treatment. It is said that the leaders of the Nepali Congress are unhappy with the Left parties forming the Socialist Front. UML is fueling the atmosphere created by it. UML Whip Mahesh Bartaula has said that Prime Minister Dahal has created a coalition within the coalition by forming the Socialist Front. The Nepali Congress has been shocked by this. The incident has created mistrust and discontent within the ruling coalition.
The formation of the Socialist Front was announced on Monday. It includes Prime Minister Dahal’s Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), Unified Socialist, Janata Samajwadi Party and Netra Bikram Chand Viplav-led Communist Party-Nepal. These parties collectively have 54 members in the House of Representatives.
Bartola said that the Maoist Center is the third largest party in the House of Representatives and it is leading the government. In this form the present government is an unnatural government.
