Madhav Kumar Nepal was elected unopposed Prime Minister after long lengths of parleys between the 22 political parties represented in the Constituent Assembly. Each party has its own ideological stand, but they have been able to work out a compromise to fill the post vacated by Pushpa Kamal Dahal after his resignation. It was not an easy path to get the majority government to fruition, but the role played by former prime minister and president of Nepali Congress speaks much. Despite the conclusive Saturday election and the smooth functioning of the CA, the path ahead is not going to be easy for Prime Minister designate Nepal. PM Nepal has the qualification honed by decades of being in politics. Whatever some detractors might have to say, PM Nepal has the capacity to drive the country forward, but what will be the deciding factor is his ability to keep together the parties that have backed him so resolutely.

The challenges are numerous, but the foremost need is to get the law and order situation under

control. This is all the more necessary because of the possible spurt in undesirable activities with the UCPN (Maoist) having decided to forward their mission both in the Parliament and on the streets. Moreover, there are other groups who seem to be bent on creating trouble. At the same time, the various demands of the parties that have endorsed Nepal’s candidacy, too, will come in due course of time. For all this, one issue that the Maoist-led government seemingly avoided was the setting up of a peace mechanism. This obviously requires the consensus of the parties represented in the CA for the setting up of a high level peace mechanism. In this direction, Koirala has appreciated the role of Nepal in the historic peace process and for the setting up of a high-profile mechanism consisting of all the top level leaders, including that of UCPN (Maoist). It was consensus, understanding and unity that had to come to the fore in dealing with the challenges in front of PM Nepal.

With how PM Nepal will deal with them is yet to be seen, there are some other thrusts that he has to initiate right at the beginning of his tenure. One of them includes activating the local bodies through the most appropriate method of the PR system. Of course, it has to take into account the case-to-case scenario that may vary, i.e. the people who constitute the local population. If this can be done through the right blend of consensus, it will augur well for the people .k In this respect, the support and cooperation of the parties, the people, the civil society, the media and others will be needed. The media, a major influencing factor, too, needs to come out clean and unbiased instead of harping on any particular issue on partisan lines. There are other drives that are needed which the prime minister has to decide in consultation with his council of ministers, the representatives of the people and people, the real stakeholders, before chalking out his path. If he can use his authority rightly and considerately then the desired achievement can be the outcome.