KATHMANDU: With the Nepal Supreme Court having reinstated the parliament, the door has opened to political deal-making in Kathmandu and the first step could see a formalising of the split in the Nepal Communist Party. The Prachanda-Madhav Nepal faction, opposed to PM K P Sharma Oli, not only commands more seats but sources said they may welcome breakaways from the Oli faction.
In addition, the rebels are reportedly talking to the Nepali Congress (under former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba) as well as the Baburam Bhattarai-led Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) to form a coalition, giving the prime minister slot to the NC which may suddenly find itself being wooed by both sides. Others in Kathmandu said the Oli faction may also be talking to the NC for the same reason.
Foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali, spokesperson for the Oli faction, was quoted as saying that the government would accept the Supreme Court ruling. Significantly, there are no guarantees that Oli would actually resign. “A meeting of the House would also be called within 13 days,” Gyawali said. Nepal sources said Deuba was very keen to become PM again, so may be tempted to shop for the best deal from the two sides.
After their party meeting on Wednesday, Madhav Nepal was quoted by the Nepali media as saying, “We are for joining hands with the Congress, Janata Samajbadi Party and other forces that are against K P Oli’s regression. We have to form a coalition government. We told Deuba that let’s join hands.” The Prachanda-Madhav Nepal faction controls 90 seats in the reinstated parliament while the Nepali Congress has 61 and the JSP 32. The Oli faction, on the other hand, has 83 members.
Thousands of people opposing PM Oli took to the streets in Kathmandu for a rally to celebrate the SC decision to reinstate the parliament