Trouble in Nepal
Sri Lanka Guardian
December 30, 2020
Prime Minister KP Oli and contender Prachanda indulge in a power tussle as China has aimed its salvage operation at maintaining unity in the NCP
by Ashok K Mehta
The vertical split in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) was inevitable. After all, it was an artificial alliance of two ideological variants of Marxist-Leninist ideology and bitter rivalry between two unrelenting leaders Prachanda, who led the Maoists in the civil war and set the stage for transformation in Nepal, and Prime Minister KP Oli (United Marxist-Leninist) who created the tsunami of nationalism to sweep the polls on a largely anti-India sentiment. The merger of the two parties and power-sharing on the basis of votes won was at the root of the “two-and-a-half years each” agreement between Oli and Prachanda becoming untenable. The attempt at gluing fractures following multiple crises was also bound to fail.