KATHMANDU, JANUARY 10

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who passed the floor test with an overwhelming majority today, is a changed man. At least what he wore today and on the day he was sworn in the PM for the third time on December 26 would suggest.

While taking the oath of office and secrecy on the previous two occasions, in 2008 and 2016, Dahal had studiedly avoided wearing Daura Suruwal, which Maoists considered the dress of the political elite against who they had waged a 10-year insurgency. Dahal had chosen to wear shirt, pants, and coat on those two occasions and he would don suit and tie at formal events or when meeting leaders from other countries.

This change of attire has led to speculation that Dahal's political ideology has also evolved.

Maoists had fought against the concept of 'one caste, one war, and one country' and they were dead against Daura Suruwal as the national dress. Dahal's comrade in arms and his one-time deputy, Baburam Bhattarai, changed that when he became the prime minister. In 2011, the government led by Bhattarai removed Daura Suruwal and Gunyo Choli as the national dress.

In an interview to BBC two years ago, Dahal had said that he often wore a suit, tie, and a cap made of cotton to reconcile nationalism and internationalism. 'Communists are internationalists. During the Mao-era, Chinese Communist Party leaders and workers used to wear coats, now they wear suits and ties,' he had told BBC.

When asked in the Parliament today why he was wearing Daura Suruwal, Dahal said, 'If sentiments of the common people cannot be addressed after joining politics of peaceful competition, I do not think demonstration of revolutionism can bring good election result.' 'Those who wear it (Daura Suruwal) have won, and those who don't have lost,' he added.

He said President Bidhya Devi Bhandari told him that she would like to see the next PM taking the oath in a Daura Surwal. Dahal said he wore it on popular demand after UML Chair KP Sharma Oli, RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane, and senior CPN-MC leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha requested him to do so. But independent lawmaker Amresh Singh put it more succinctly: 'Once CK Lal (a political columnist) said the day Dahal wears Daura Suruwal, the revolution initiated by him will end.'

'The day Dahal wears Daura Suruwal, the revolution started by him will end'

A version of this article appears in the print on January 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.