Editorial
You could feel the anger in the Congress when, once again, president Sher Bahadur Deuba insisted that the party retain the current government coalition and face the local elections in coalition. His argument seemed somewhat lame when he saw threats to the system from K.P. Oli’s UML which must be prevented from winning the local polls by the coalition. Detractors in his own party were right in pointing out that the last such electoral gambit resulted in a radical loss of grassroots posts for the Congress and, furthermore, could not prevent the Maoist partners from teaming with the UML in the national elections. The Congress grassroots’ chagrin at not being allowed to float their own candidates among themselves once again to the point of encouraging local extinction was not bereft of logic too. The new divisions in the newly elected Congress leadership would seem only natural in a democratic party. And, so opinions were aroused, rebels were created and, not just the party, but the coalition government itself and the elections for that matter appeared threatened. But, only momentarily. And here is the beauty of Congress democracy. The Party whip worked by and large. Except for a few defiant candidates, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba appears to have prevailed over his detractors when, of a sudden, arguments against the election combine flipped outright and the party leadership, suddenly aware of the utility of party unity, backed the party boss, echoing moreover, the same Deuba arguments they had been critical of previously. Magic!
PM Deuba’s many many opponents revel in portraying his personality as a stuttering, clumsy, corrupt bungler squandering his repeated opportunities in government at the expense of Congress. Perhaps, but, the manner with which Deuba has brought his party leadership squarely behind him in facing the local elections with the coalition demonstrates that there is a method to his madness, whosoever be the designer. This local election sees the Nepali Congress being backed squarely by its coalition partners. It is Congress granting seats to other parties, seemingly, at its own expense. The largesse is not lost in taming the belligerence of the coalition partners. Barring a few exceptions the coalition looks like it will hold. A largely two-way competition between the Congress compact and the UML will have been forged, forget minor challenges from a newly resurgent RPP and individual candidates. The UML itself goes to the polls as a conglomerate partnering diverse interests such as the Christian Right and the Hindu advocates. It is as if the two work in tandem to have the elections endorse the system and retain their political monopoly.
But here is the catch. It is not just the system. It is the same government and opposition combined that functioned in their separate ways to pass the MCC, the latest achievement in engineering a polity. Let us say it began after the 1990 change when the two refitted from destroying the national production machinery and tailoring the security and administrative organizations. It was then, as it turns out, that partisan penetration of the judicial sector was made possible. Of course, by then the academic structures had already been bankrupted. The 2006 change, thus proceeded to scuttle the remnant vestiges of national institutions that could shore up the slide. Just as the constitution could be waived as endorsed by the whip, new changes are being endorsed. The MCC and now the election compact. Indeed, a UML now firmly in the grip of K.P. Oli who partnered with the MCC, the government too is now steered by Deuba who delivered. A change is due. New alignments in 2006 trampled over hapless party cadre who were victims of the violence that ushered in the change. International brokering made this blatant default possible. Perusal into the party cadre that are being displaced since after the national conventions of the mainstream parties will perhaps yield insights as to those being displaced both by the polls and preferences. Yes, there is a design.
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