KATHMANDU, JANUARY 2

Nepal's politics turned topsy-turvy last week following the abandonment of the Nepali Congress-led coalition by the Maoist Centre (MC) and joining hands with the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) even though both these parties did not see eye to eye till very recently.

This once again gave substance to the age-old adage that politics is the game of possibilities and that there are no permanent friends and foes in politics. What is permanent is the solitary political interest.

This incident sent a chill up the spine of the NC in a rather cold Nepali winter. The NC was foxed by Prachanda as the general impression was that Prachanda would not pull off the miracle so soon. What the NC failed to recognise is that Prachanda was at best unpredictable and could take any guise going by his earlier unexpected stands. There are also rumours that the NC, MC and UML were engaged in outdoing one by the other, and in the process the NC got edged out.

Prachanda wanted to remain in the NC coalition given the prime ministerial berth, failing which he would switch to the UML if offered the coveted post.

The NC wanted the prime ministerial post by virtue of being the largest party in the Parliament either with the MC or with the support of the UML. The UML on the other hand wanted to support either the MC or the NC as it had not yet recovered from the scar of remaining without power as the largest party in the Parliament. In such a bilateral scenario, one of the three had to face the exit, and this time it was the NC that had to go through this unfortunate ordeal.

Such political scenarios have been repeating one after another since mythological times on the Indian subcontinent. Ravana had to crash to face defeat in the hands of Ram because his brother Bibhishana defected to the adversary's camp. Bibhishana disclosed several secrets, which turned handy in the demise of Ravana, his mighty brothers and sons.

In the Mahabharata, Duryodhan made a blunder by not accepting Krishna's offer to give only five villages to the Pandavas to stop the impending war. Instead, he captured Krishna, who later joined the Pandava group in the war.

It proved to be the determining factor in piling the bodies of the hundred Kaurava brothers on the funeral pyre.

The NC could not stop Prachanda from joining the UML group in the same way as Ravana could not dissuade Bibhishana from joining Ram's side. Nor did it accept the demand of Prachanda just as Duryodhan refused the request of Krishna. Consequently, the NC has been undergoing the sufferings of Ravana and the Kauravas put together.

It has led to the political demise of Sher Bahadur Deuba as the death of Ravana and of several NC members like the hundred Kauravas, including that of the aging Ramchandra Paudel.

After a damage is done, the attention naturally diverts towards judging who was responsible for the sorry episode. In the Mahabharata War, Dhritarashtra, Bhisma, Kunti, Draupadi, Gandhari, Karna and several others had their share, but it was Dhritarashtra who had to share the brunt of the blame. It was because he wanted to be the king despite being blind.

Similar is the case in the present political upheaval. Deuba, his wife Arzoo, and his comrades-in-arm are held responsible for this sudden fall from the political cliff, but it is Deuba who wanted to be the Prime Minister time and again. Though it has been said that not a single person was responsible, being a collective group decision, Deuba has to shoulder most of the blame as the leader of the party.

What is the way forward now for the NC then? First, it has to decide whether it wants to bounce back in between now and the next election. If it does not want, then business as usual is the right path. It can retain Deuba and kill time till the next election as it did in the earlier part of the last term. The NC even supported the Policy and Programme of the Communist Party consisting of the UML and MC. Similarly, it can support the present government while taking the vote of confidence.

If the aim is to resurrect, Deuba should resign because of this political blunder. In search of the prime ministerial post, it lost all the towering posts like the President, the Speaker, the Chief Ministers in the provinces and so on. A new leader should be elected to head the NC. Yes, Oli did not resign under a similar situation, but the NC is a democratic party unlike the communist UML.

Firstly, it should act as a very strong opposition party. In this connection, it should form a shadow government and work more proficiently than the government. It is easy because the present government is like a seven-headed hydra and is likely to show disharmonious tendencies. The opposition party should inform the people about such inconsistencies in the government.

Secondly, it should propose innovative panaceas to the present problems. For example, the Rastriya Swatantra Party has already proposed a primary election. The NC should go further by mooting the likes of a state-funded party system. It should also table a series of social packages, like free education, housing and health.

Thirdly, it should walk the talk by its implementation within itself. It has lost the governmental seat, but it enjoys a majority in the local government. It should make a dramatic change in these local governments. It can then use them as a showpiece in the next election. It will give the impression that the NC not only preaches, but performs as well.

Fourthly, it should fight the next by-elections alone unlike the present pre-election coalition. The other political parties will also follow suit. It will show the individual strengths of the political parties. Such creative steps undertaken by the NC will help it bounce back earlier or certainly after the next election.

A version of this article appears in the print on January 3, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.