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After the promulgation of the political party-related ordinance, any faction of a party represented in the House of Representatives can register a new party if it has 20 percent members in either the mother outfit’s Central Committee or the Parliamentary Party. This has not only changed the dynamics in CPN-UML but also Janta Samajbadi Party Nepal (JSPN). Although the ordinance now faces a legal challenge, a split in JSPN could invite an unexpected situation in Madhesi politics as well as the government. Also, Madhes now has other emerging political forces which, to some extent, could affect the results of upcoming elections. Pratik Ghimire of ApEx interviewed political analyst and expert on Madhes issues Tula Narayan Shah.

How do you assess the relation between JSPN and the Deuba government?

Although there are two distinct factions in JSPN, both have officially supported the Deuba government by voting in favor of his confidence motion. But to date, the coalition formally includes only the Upendra Yadav faction. So, this side will, for sure, join the government with a respectable number of ministries. 

Regarding Mahanta Thakur’s faction, it is fine to support the government from outside, but accepting ministerial berths could be seen as adopting double standards and acting opportunistically. Yet, I can't deny the possibility of their joining the government. We need to wait for further political developments as nothing in politics is impossible. So, JSPN as a whole has a pretty decent relationship with the Deuba government.

What is more beneficial for Madhes? A united JSPN or two or more parties?

Before 2008, the Madhesi parties were in the periphery. They later formed an alliance and emerged as a potent force in national politics. Until these parties make their presence felt, their issues won’t get national attention. So I would prefer a unified JSPN as it will benefit the party and somehow the society, and their agenda is almost the same. But the current political timeline does not suggest a reconciliation between the factions. We should not forget the schooling, orientation, and culture of the two factions. Yadav’s side is like a ‘mini-Maoist’ party whereas Thakur’s has a ‘mini-Congress’ feel. 

Politics is always envisioned in the presence of political parties, but if we look at them through the lens of caste, we often see that be it in the Madhes or the hills, the elite caste rules over lower ones. And the presence of two castes in JSPN leadership suggested a split was inevitable. In 2008, when Yadav’s party was emerging, Thakur showed up because the upper caste population did not accept Yadav’s leadership. This angle might be unpopular nonetheless it’s a vital one. 

How does a split affect the electoral prospects of Tarai-Madhes?

If you look at figures from past elections, whenever alliances have been formed ahead of elections, the Nepali Congress has been in trouble. For instance, in the last election, Congress performed well at the local level because no alliance existed, but in the parliamentary election, Congress lost out.

Many people saw the recent political party-related ordinance issued only for the benefit of Madhav Kumar Nepal, but Deuba for sure understood the situation in JSPN. He knows that the more the Madhesi parties split, the more the NC can gain electorally, and so he hit two birds with one stone. 

Is CK Raut’s party still relevant in Madhes?

CK Raut’s Janamat Party is a supplementary force in Madhesi politics—it has a different political culture to other existing parties. He is establishing good relations between voters, cadets, and leaders. He has been pushing himself in an organized way with specific roadmaps for reforms in politics, society, and the government. Almost all current political leaders of the Madhesi parties are aged. They will be in mainstream politics for a maximum of two or three elections, but CK is working to establish himself in the long run—he could be in the game for the next six to seven elections. Madhesi people have glamourized Raut for two reasons: his academic degree and his devotion—he left his job in the US to come to Nepal. So he represents a new hope for Madhes. He is capable and qualified too. 

But demographics work against him—he is supported by the young blood (those born in the 90s) who are out of the country and working in the Gulf. The older and larger voting population still has faith in existing parties. Generally speaking, parties not born of large struggles get involved in their first election just to make themselves visible. In the second election, they divide the votes and make others lose. Only in the third election do they really do well. 

What if Raut’s party wins a respectable number of seats in upcoming elections? Would he revive his separatist idea?

Although his party winning many seats is an unlikely prospect, it would be a progressive thing if it happened. Regarding the political agenda, he brought both hope and threat, at the same time, but he has already accepted the legal political course of Nepal. But Kathmandu sees every Madhesi political party as a separatist. The reality is: His previous agenda was never a discussion point in Madhes. He was young, and everyone knew he did this to gain visibility. There was a situation in which the Madhesi people ignored Raut’s agenda and enjoyed his personality, but the hill population ignored his personality and talked about his agenda. My view is that Raut is now a proper politician and an important and needed figure in the mainstream politics of Madhes. 

For decades now, imported aerated drinks and offerings from multinational companies (MNCs) have ruled the Nepali market. As Nepal struggles to produce/manufacture even the most basics consumer goods, the market for soft drinks and bottled juices is inevitably captured by the MNCs.

Even so, a few homegrown players are coming up. Established in 2017, Singapore Beverages Nepal Pvt Ltd is one such company, which has released a host of Nepal-made bottled drinks and is gradually trying to penetrate the rigid market controlled by international companies.

Aashish Sharma, founder and managing director of Singapore Beverages, talks to Sunny Mahat of ApEx on the company’s plans and possibilities.

As “Jeeru” is your flagship product, let’s start by discussing the concept behind it.

After we started the soft drinks manufacturing company, we realized our other drinks like the Cola, Lemon, Lemon and Lime, Orange were just replacements for products that were already in the market. We wanted to offer something different and something indigenous and known to Nepali palates. We did some research and checked global trends. That’s when we came across the idea for Jeeru. Its main ingredients are jeera (cumin seeds) and black salt—something readily available in most Nepali kitchens and used for both cooking as well as medicinal purposes. We felt this drink would connect to a large segment of Nepali customers and it is already doing so. We have exported Jeeru to the US as well.

With the success of Jeeru and other products to follow, do you think home-grown products like these will ever displace international brands?

This is a big challenge for us. It’s like an ant fighting a mammoth. A four-year-old company is competing against companies that are over 150, have a heritage of their own and are synonymous with cola drinks. Yet we will try.  

We all know of the country’s trade deficit and its dependency on foreign brands. We need to start supporting Nepali brands that can displace MNCs. Take Indian brands like Mahindra, Bajaj and Tata for example. They were born in India and are now global companies. We need that belief in our homegrown products and the belief that our local products can compete against imported ones. We need ‘Born in Nepal’ companies to represent the country abroad. We have the ability but not the platform. 

What measures are you taking to protect the environment as a manufacturing company?

We do whatever is possible to protect the environment. We are using recyclable items wherever possible and promote recycling of our used bottles. Carbonated drinks need to be packed in pressurized containers and we have our limitations on packaging materials, but we are still trying to find greener alternatives to them.

How has the government supported your enterprise?

We have been enunciating this for a long time. It’s simple, you just can’t compare a newborn to a healthy grownup. In Nepal, ironically, a new homegrown company like us are put on the same category as a multinational company which has been operating worldwide for decades. How does that help us? 

We are made to follow the same regulations and pay the same taxes. Basically, we stand at the same podium as an MNC. For us to survive, we need a lot more support than what the government is giving to us right now.

How is the customer perception of local products in the market? Has it changed in recent times?

There’s this thinking among Nepali customers that any ‘local product’ has to be of inferior quality. This thinking is very rigid in areas dominated by the MNCs. Nepali people are just not ready to accept that a local product can be of international standard. In an import-dependent country like ours, this perception has been controlled by international brands. I think this is because of the hypnotic effects of massive marketing and brand activation that the MNCs do. They convince consumers that their product is good and then the consumers start thinking all other alternatives are inferior. 

We request all consumers to at least try our products. Drink the product, not the Brand! We also appreciate media support, in instance in the form of the ‘Made in Nepal’ campaign the Annapurna Media Network is currently running.

Sher Bahadur Deuba has been the prime minister for just over a month now. With his government only having a maximum of 15 months in office, he was expected to get off to a swift start. Yet Deuba has not even been able to expand his cabinet and he has already started pushing ordinances to bypass the parliament. Pratik Ghimire of ApEx talked to senior political analyst Shyam Shrestha on the Deuba government’s outlook.

How would you analyze this one-month tenure of Prime Minister Deuba?

A month might not be enough time to review a tenure, but as morning shows the day, Deuba’s government has also shown the pathway on which he wants to walk. Unfortunately, it’s a dark path. Recent timeline suggests that, like Oli, he is also on a regressive road. Deuba is still working with a four-member team, and the most important ministries like foreign and health are vacant. This has hampered service-delivery.

Two things should be appreciated though—distribution of vaccines and reappointment of Kulman Ghising as the NEA head. And amid various geopolitical hurdles, and with very few sources, Nepal Airlines is to fly to Afghanistan to evacuate Nepalis, which is appreciable too.

Do you think Deuba will be in office until the constitutionally-mandated November 2022 elections? 

Only one person can answer this question: Deuba’s astrologer. Jokes apart, the life of this government is determined by its coalition partners and, as of now, it looks like they will stay united. They have also released their common minimum program, which sets a good precedent that is in line with international practice. But sadly, its content is not progressive. They have only unveiled the program to ensure the alliance’s unity.

How do you see the exclusion of the MCC compact in the common minimum program? 

Nepal has been receiving grants from the US for a long time, and there have been no problems. We need grants. But what the MCC is asking in return will endanger our sovereignty. MCC says that our intellectual property will belong to them, the MCA-Nepal under the Nepal government won’t follow any directions from Nepali officials, MCC laws will be above our constitution, etc. We should not exchange these things for $500 million. I am happy the government is not talking about MCC and it is also not mentioned in the common minimum program. If, in case, it gets a green light from the parliament, this government will shortly collapse, and Deuba knows this.

Will the result of the Nepali Congress general convention slated for November-end affect Deuba’s tenure as prime minister?

According to party legislation, Nepali Congress must conduct its general convention this time. They might hold a small special convention for now, which will be followed by a regular convention later. But, whatever the result, it is least likely to affect Deuba’s government position. The entire party was committed to his premiership, and he still has a strong backup in the party.

What is your reading of PM Deuba’s foreign policy priorities?

Deuba never has a foreign policy, nor does he have a geopolitical outlook. Foreign policy is an expanded form of domestic policy. Since his domestic policy is poor, I don’t expect any better on the international front. Things could change a bit with a strong foreign minister though. 

Bibeksheel Sajha Party President Rabindra Mishra’s call for doing away with federalism and a referendum on secularism has stirred Nepali politics anew. These are the things the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has long asked for. So are the old RPP agendas going mainstream? What does the party make of the recent turn of events and how are its election preparations going? Pratik Ghimire of ApEx talked to RPP Chairman Kamal Thapa.

What is the RPP up to these days? Your party seems to have gone completely off the radar.

We are currently focused on organizing the party general convention, which is to be held on November 13 in Kathmandu. Leading up to it, our district-level committees are organizing their own conventions. We will also complete the selection of convention representatives by October 1. The party is all-set to start campaigning for the upcoming local-level elections as well. 

Your party didn’t fare well in the 2017 elections. Despite that you seem to be sticking to the agenda that has been rejected by voters.

There is a misconception about our agenda. The monarchy we are talking about is constitutional, not like the one we had before 2006. In our vision, the House of Representatives shall hold the legislative power and a ceremonial king will be the national guardian. When we lobby for a Hindu state, we don’t want any privilege for a particular religion. All we want is to restore the identity of Nepal as the country of Sanatan dharma.

Similarly, the dissolution of federalism will be accompanied by the formation of a strong central government, and well-equipped and capable local governments. In other words, it is a system where local governments will enjoy autonomy. It is a synergy between traditional and contemporary systems. 

The ruling and the opposition parties have repeatedly failed, which is also the failure of the system they represent. We are a small party at this point, but the public has realized the necessity of our systematic and progressive agenda—nationalism, democracy, and Sanatan dharma. We are the alternative force with the most number of supporters.

What do you make of Rabindra Mishra’s recent political proposal over federalism and secularism?

I am positive about his proposal. RPP believes in the system, not a particular person, and Mishra is talking about changing the system. No matter who builds a progressive path, we will always feel proud. Fifteen years ago, RPP was alone in condemning federalism and secularism and now we have many other politicians, intellectuals, and members of the public who share our sentiment. Even senior leaders of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML are changing their minds. I take this as my achievement. There should be more open dialogue and discussion on these matters.

Is the RPP open to an electoral alliance with other like-minded forces, say like Mishra’s party?

Although we prioritize political parties that are close to our ideals, our door is open for everyone for an electoral alliance. I can’t confirm it yet, but we will certainly work together with some parties in the upcoming local elections. 

And the alliance for the federal election will rely on the steps of the ruling coalition. If the coalition continues into the election, of course, we will also come up with something competitive. Also, I can’t deny that we will be interested in merging with parties with shared beliefs. 

As a close confidante of ex-King Gyanendra, how do you read his concerns? Is he too planning a comeback of some kind?

He has serious concerns. He always talks about how Nepal could achieve peace, prosperity, and stability. He feels sad because the political parties have failed to live up to people’s expectations. This is his public as well as official view. I don't think the ex-king wants to be involved in mainstream politics, though if the monarchy is restored, it will be a different matter altogether. He will accept the verdict of political parties and citizens.