NC’s support to PM Prachanda creates rift between UML and Maoists
By Our Reporter
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ seems to have fallen into a trap within less than a month he assumed the high office in the support of the CPN-UML on December 26 last year. And the trap was set up by none other than our southern neighbour through Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba. Prime Minister Prachanda himself is also responsible for the situation. Had he not sought the support of the NC during his floor test on January 10 when he was sure to garner a comfortable majority in the parliament, he would have avoided the situation. He asked for NC’s support, and the NC also voted for him despite strong opposition from the party rank and files.
However, only a few knew that NC had supported the Prime Minister in an Indian design planned to elect a non-communist President.
Interestingly, NC decided to give the vote of confidence to Prime Minister Prachanda a few days after NC leader Ram Chandra Paudel all of sudden floated the idea of the national consensus government. Paudel himself was eying for the post of President until Prachanda deserted the NC-led coalition hours before the deadline given by the President to form a new government was to expire.
Now after giving the vote of confidence, NC has started bargaining for the post of President and Speaker. Maybe, Prime Minister Prachanda too had assured the NC of giving one of the posts to it while seeking a vote of confidence because PM Prachanda himself is not sure about cooperation from CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli, as they turned foes after the dissolution of the House by the latter in December 2020 and May 2021. Also, Prachanda was fed up with the activities of President Bidya Devi Bhandari when Oli was leading the government.
As such, Prime Minister Prachanda could feel comfortable if the new president is elected from a party other than the UML.
Now after supporting the government, NC has increased its bargaining power. Although the CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre struck a power-sharing deal and expanded the government accordingly on Tuesday. According to the agreement reached between the two communist parties, the government will be led by the Maoist for the first two and half years and the posts of the Speaker and the President will be held by the CPN-UML while the Rastriya Swatantra Party is given the post of the Deputy Speaker and the Maoist Centre vice president. The two parties also agreed that after the first term of two and a half years, Oli will become the new PM while the Speaker’s post will go to the Maoist Centre.
But now UML is suspicious about whether the Maoist will back NC in the election of the President because one cannot become the President without the Maoists’ vote. Even PM Prachanda has shown a soft corner to NC’s demand because the latter had supported him during the floor test. In a sense, NC has succeeded to create a sort of rift between the UML and the Maoist Centre. It was evident during the all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister Tuesday evening, in which the UML reminded the parties of the power-sharing agreement reached between the UML and the Maoist Centre.
Meanwhile, Arzu Rana, wife of Deuba is in New Delhi, probably to meet the Indian leaders. It is reported that India suggested to Deuba that he should maintain cordial relations with Prachanda for a possible future alliance between the NC and the Maoist Centre.
For now, India wants to prevent UML from grabbing the post of president. But if Prachanda supports NC in the presidential elections, he may remain in power for full five years, because both the UML and NC will be supporting him to avoid the formation of another government either under NC or UML, the two main rival parties.
While the UML has started suspecting whether PM Prachanda will support NC in the election of the president, the two ruling parties have irked the Madhes-based parties by not giving them much space. None from the Madhes-based parties were inducted in the Cabinet expansion of Tuesday, and the one appointed earlier from the Janamat Party boycotted the swearing-in ceremony after he was denied the Ministry of Industry as agreed earlier. Upendra Yadav of the Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal has openly said that the Madhes-based parties were looked down again. This has paved a way for unity among the Madhes-based forces, and this will further weaken the position of the UML in the election of the president.
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