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CPN-UML Chairman and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the big political parties have to ease the situation for the nation through dialogue and common efforts when the nation is in difficulty.

"We are of the belief that democracy should be based on healthy competition. We together drafted the Constitution and should move ahead together. The required outlet can be provided to the nation by moving forward hand-in-hand,"  he said during an interview with RSS.

Asked about his thoughts on big parties including the Nepali Congress and the UML together leading the country for resolving the specific problems facing the nation, he recalled that the UML itself had proposed to the Congress for working together at the time of the Constitution promulgation, making it clear that they have never lagged behind when the Congress has come forward for dialogue.

Stating that the UML does not steps back from the journey of dialogue and consensus on national issues, but rather takes the lead, the former PM stated, "In such situations, the UML had taken the lead and paved the way in a democratic manner in the past as well and it will not backtrack from it even now if required."

He said it should not be forgotten that after the devastating earthquake (in 2015) the UML had played a constructive role with the commitment to work together with the CPN (Maoist Center) on reconstruction and constitution making, although it was the opposition party at that time.

"We have a history of working for the country and the people also in the past. All should come together when necessary. The UML, Congress and Maoist Centre alone had worked together for the nation in the past," Chairman Oli said, answering the question why not the three largest parties – the Nepali Congress, the UML and the Maoist Centre- which are the agents of political change in Nepal, together form a coalition government for the purpose of giving political stability to the country in the context of the citizens yearning for the same at present.

The UML Chair and former Prime Minister said, "The UML is a party that works in deference to the people's aspirations and the nation's needs. Collaboration is needed among the agents of change for the country's political stability. The UML is taking the lead for this."

Saying the Constitution is the means of happiness and prosperity of the nation and people, Chair Oli mentioned, "Dialogue is the best tool to remove misunderstanding taking place among us. Dialogue can lead to consensus. Dialogue is again necessary. It is not necessary that there should be agreement on everything, but there must be consensus at least on basic things.  We brought a multi-party system of healthy competition of ruling and the opposition. Consensus should be accepted without refusing this system. "

Responding to a query, he explained that they have no excuse not to provide any achievement to the people while remaining in the government.

"To be in power is to develop the country and provide facilities to the people. There is no meaning to remain in the government if people's problems are not addressed. There is no meaning of any government if it fails to address the people's problems," he underlined.

Chair Oli explained that the UML proposed the Nepali Congress to join hands at a time when it is necessary to develop the system as envisaged by the Constitution and to formulate laws, adding the NC should be serious on it.

"We should stand together and we are one of the basic principles of democracy. We brought this system after a long struggle and on our own choosing. It should be made strong. The Constitution should be amended if problems surfaced in the course of its implementation. We should hold dialogue and forge consensus for its successful implementation keeping the people at the center," he stressed. RSS

Nepali Congress has said that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal should pave the way by stepping down.

The Central Works Execution Committee meeting held at party President Sher Bahadur Deuba’s residence in Budhanilkantha concluded that the Prime Minister should put in papers as the two largest parties in the Parliament have already reached an agreement to form a national government.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, spokesperson Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the Prime Minister should help in forming a new government by tendering his resignation.

“The Prime Minister should pave the way if the two largest parties are saying that they are forming a new government. We have urged him to resign,” he said.

But Prime Minister Dahal is in no mood to resign immediately.

ALSO READ: Story behind formation of new coalition

Leader Mahat informed that the meeting has endorsed the agreement reached between the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML to form a new government.

“The meeting has endorsed the agreement that UML chair KP Sharma Oli will lead the government initially to push for constitutional amendments and then hand over power to NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba to conduct the 2027 elections,” he said.

Mahat further went on to say that the party will decide on the names of the ministers to be sent to the government later.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has made up his mind to resign.

Minister Lamichhane is preparing to put in papers saying that there is no point in staying in the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, which fell into minority after the formation of a new ruling coalition of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.

People close to Lamichhane have suggested that he resign from the post of Home Minister.

According to a source, Lamichhane is also preparing to join the government led by UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli after tendering the resignation.

It has been learnt that Lamichhane, who is also the President of Rastriya Swatantra Party, is in a mood to submit the resignation to the Prime Minister after today’s meeting.

“A new agreement has been reached between the two largest parties. The government led by CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has already fallen into minority. He is busy in holding discussions with the party leaders saying that it will be appropriate to resign in this situation. Most probably, he will resign after today’s meeting,” a leader said.

The Dahal-led government faced a crisis after the top leaders of the two largest parties of the Parliament Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli signed an agreement to form a new government under Oli’s leadership.

In the 275-member House of Representatives, Nepali Congress has 88 seats and UML has 79.

The UML on Tuesday had urged Prime Minister Dahal to resign by today and pave the way for the formation of a national consensus government.

The Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, the first and second largest parties in Parliament, have agreed to form a national unity government. This coalition aims to amend the constitution adopted in 2015. 

According to the agreement, UML chair KP Sharma Oli will lead the government initially to push for constitutional amendments and then hand over power to NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba to conduct the 2027 elections. Cross-party leaders acknowledge that amending key provisions of the constitution will be challenging. The NC-UML alliance anticipates strong opposition from the CPN (Maoist Center), Madhes-based parties, and other groups that support federalism, secularism, and identity-based federalism.

The new alliance needs to muster a two-thirds majority in Parliament for any constitutional amendment which seems feasible. The tentative agreement between NC and UML includes changes to the current electoral system, which many believe is one of the main causes of political instability and frequent government changes.

The two parties are of the view that the current mixed system of first-past-the-post and proportional representation makes it difficult to achieve a single-party majority. While leaders of the two major parties say that frequent coalition changes since the 2022 election highlight this issue, the electoral system is not solely to blame for instability. The new government also plans to remove the provision of secularism from the constitution, leaving the space blank. Additionally, NC and UML have agreed to revisit the current three-tier federal structure, considering it a significant burden onto the state. 

Despite their push for a national unity government, it is unlikely to materialize fully, as the Maoist party and the Rastriya Swatantra Party have decided not to join the future Oli-led government. However, the NC-UML coalition expects to achieve two-thirds support in Parliament with the help of fringe parties. NC and UML are reaching out to fringe parties in order to increase the strength of the government. 

It remains to be seen whether the fringe parties would wholly buy into the propositions put forward by NC and UML. Former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s party, CPN (Unified Socialist), criticized the latest coalition, likening it to tyranny. 

Notably, the leadership of both NC and UML have not yet held intra-party consultations about the content of the constitutional amendments. Shankar Pokharel, UML general secretary of the NC-UML coalition, emphasized their primary agenda is constitutional amendment and called on all parties to join the national unity government.

The CPN (Maoist Center) has expressed strong opposition to changing the electoral system, viewing it as a regressive step. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party, however, views the agreement between NC and UML positively, believing that the current constitution cannot address the country’s problems.

Background of NC-UML coalition 

In 2015, during the constitution-making process, NC and UML formed a coalition government that successfully delivered the constitution. Initially, NC was supposed to support UML for the coalition government, but it backtracked on its commitment, straining the relationship between the two parties. This tension peaked when UML chair Oli dissolved Parliament in 2020.

Over the past two years, NC leader Deuba was reluctant to engage with Oli, fearing it might affect NC’s relationship with the Maoist Center. When the Maoists sided with UML in March, NC leaders including Shekhar Koirala began reaching out to UML, but results were slow. There were voices within both parties advocating for a coalition to ensure government stability, though some were against it due to the competitive nature of the parties and concerns about weakening the opposition.

At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane was digging the files of some NC leaders accused in various corruption cases. Lately, with the surfacing of various corruption scandals, it was natural for the ranks of NC-UML to be fearful. As more scandals like the Giribandhu Tea Estate began to unravel, the situation became increasingly uncertain. Lamichhane had told Parliament on Monday that preparations were underway to form a powerful commission to investigate 25 corruption scandals.

Talks between NC and UML progressed three months ago  through a facilitator when Oli was in Jhapa for a week-long visit.  But the contents of the meetings were kept highly secret. On Saturday, Deuba and Oli held a candid and open discussion at Balkot, Oli’s residence. On Monday night, two top leaders signed in a document of agreement which remains top secret. Before the Balkot meeting, two secret meetings happened in Kathmandu. 

Despite initial distrust, several rounds of talks led Oli and Deuba to agree that the country faced a crisis due to constitutional flaws and the Dahal government’s mishandling of the situation. Oli was particularly frustrated with the Dahal-led government’s monopoly on decision-making, especially regarding the budget. As a result, UML withdrew its support from the government, requiring the prime minister to take a vote of confidence within 30 days. The formation of a new Oli-led government now depends on Prime Minister Dahal’s actions. Actually, Oli was in favor of keeping the agreement in secret with a plan to complete the entire process within a month but it was leaked in the media, that is why there was slow progress on Tuesday. 

Was Dahal kept in the dark?

Increased meetings between Oli and Dahal had raised concerns in Baluwatar. The prime minister was briefed by the Home Minister about these informal meetings. 

A recent meeting in Balkot prompted Prime Minister Dahal to invite Oli for talks, where Dahal asked Oli if he was forming a government with NC. Oli dismissed the reports, focusing on left unity until the general elections. However, after NC and UML agreed to form a new government, Dahal invited Oli again, urging transparency about the agreement with NC. 

Let’s briefly talk about the coalition of politics mainly after 2022. In the 2022 national elections, Dahal’s CPN (Maoist Center) emerged as the third-largest party with 32 seats. Despite an initial proposal from UML to form a coalition government, NC claimed the leadership and did not support the Maoists, despite an electoral alliance. 

Eventually, UML supported Dahal for the premiership, but he switched alliances multiple times between NC and UML. Dahal believed he could remain in power by playing between the first and second largest parties and was confident that external forces would not allow Oli to become prime minister.

Meanwhile, the leaders of both major parties were tired of the ‘opportunism’ and ‘turncoat’ character shown by Dahal, the third power in the parliament. Lately, Prime Minister Dahal had even started publicly speaking about the ‘magic number’. He began expressing the sentiment that he could remain prime minister for the entire five years by playing between UML and Congress.

Dahal’s expressions certainly unsettled Oli, eager to climb the chair of power, and Deuba, who wanted to become prime minister once again, sooner or later. Dahal’s statements violated the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ of rotation with Oli. Oli had not taken Dahal from the alliance with NC to let him be prime minister alone for five years.

Had he understood the situation, Dahal could have found it easier to ally with NC. Even in an alliance with NC, Dahal would have had to give up the prime minister’s position to Deuba after two and a half years. Possibly, Dahal chose the difficult and survival path post-election? However, even after collaborating with UML, the ongoing dialogue with NC did not create an environment of trust. Meanwhile, Dahal also signaled a change in strategy. He began demanding that Oli allow him to run the entire period with the condition of unifying the party until the next election and stepping down from active politics to become the president. Oli clearly did not like this proposal.

In a political environment where betrayal has become a competition, Oli took the initiative this time. He went to Baluwatar, whispered sweet assurances in Dahal’s ear, and gave form to the new relationship. Dahal’s practice of betrayal with the magical number has become a strong fear of turning into a political culture, of which today’s players of the betrayal game could also become victims someday.

Future course

It seems likely that Oli will become prime minister. Dahal might attempt to break the agreement by offering the prime ministership position to Deuba, but this is unlikely to succeed. The constitutional amendment process will be challenging, potentially unleashing tensions. It remains to be seen how NC and UML will convince all stakeholders to support the amendments.

The UML has requested Prime Minister Dahal to resign by Wednesday. A leader revealed that the UML Secretariat meeting on Tuesday decided to ask Prime Minister Dahal to step down. 

This would pave the way for the formation of a new government under Article 76 (2) of the Constitution, according to the agreement between the UML and the Congress.

The UML has also invited other parties to join in forming a national consensus government led by Oli. According to sources, some parties including CPN (Maoist Center) could suffer a split in the run-up to the constitution amendment process.