R Krishna Das
Until Saturday, a day before the President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s deadline to form a majority government ended, Pushpa Kamal Dahal had maintained his commitment to the NC-led coalition.
But the Maoist supremo did a dramatic U-turn when he and NC chair and prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba failed to reach an agreement. The deal would have facilitated one of them becoming Prime Minister first under the new government.
In the middle of the meeting, Dahal left citing he was going off to lunch and would return to continue the negotiations. But instead Deuba and other NC members heard he had gone to K P Oli’s residence in Balkot to get his support. The duplicitous gave the desired dividend.
Decked up in Daura-Suruwal, Nepal’s national dress, Pushpa Kamal Dahal today evening took over as Prime Minister of Nepal. President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy at Shital Niwas. This is perhaps the first time that Dahal has attended a public function wearing Daura-Suruwal.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has formed an eight-member cabinet. On Monday, Prime Minister Dahal administered oath of office and secrecy to three Deputy Prime Ministers and four ministers shortly after he took oath. Bishnu Paudel of CPN-UML, Narayankaji Shrestha of Maoist Center and Rabi Lamichhane of Rastriya Swatantra Party have been appointed as deputy prime ministers in the Dahal-led cabinet.
Indeed, Dahal may be in the Prime Minister’s seat, but Oli is the one calling the shots. Even Dahal’s party is wary about the new deal and feels Dahal’s desire to become Prime Minister has overruled everything else — ideology, principles, and the ‘liberation’ of the people for which he waged a ruinous 10-year insurgency.
As soon as Oli offered him the first chance as Prime Minister on the condition of breaking away from the former NC-led coalition, all bets were off.
Had Dahal acted sensibly, not only would he have been Prime Minister anyway in two years, his party’s nominees would also have bagged the posts of President and House Speaker besides plum ministerial positions over the next five years. Now, it will be Oli, who is reportedly inclined towards China, who will be pulling the strings on appointments even if Dahal is Prime Minister.
Maoist party leaders feel a continued alliance with the NC would have benefited more of its rank and file. With this deal, only Dahal benefits. On Monday morning, the Maoist Centre meeting decided to appoint party vice-chair Narayan Kaji Shrestha deputy prime minister.
While Dahal has bagged premiership at the expense of his own party, Oli — whose UML is the second-largest in Parliament after the November election — has shrewdly gained the dominance once again, playing the long game by agreeing to give Dahal the first go at leading the government while bagging plum political positions for his party in the process.
