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Along with government-to-government relationships, the Communist Party of China and India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are competing to cultivate ties with Nepal’s political parties. Keeping their ideological positions at a bay, they are reaching out to all major parties in Nepal.  

High-level delegations from both the CPC and BJP are visiting Kathmandu, while leaders from various political parties in Nepal are also flying to China and India, with more party-to-party level exchange of visits on the cards. 

Political analysts say both New Delhi and Beijing are making a departure from their traditional policy of backing only specific parties and leaders and building ties with all political forces in Nepal, considering the political instability in the country.

The spectacular emergence of the recently formed Rastriya Swatantra Party and the resurgence of Rastriya Prajatantra Party—both of which are challenging the three traditional parties, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center)—have also forced China and India to recalibrate their approach. 

The CPC has realized that by fostering and nurturing Nepal’s leftist forces is not going to secure China’s interests.  The BJP, which has been in power in India since a decade, also wants to achieve its agendas including Hindutva ideology in Nepal by roping in all political parties. For them, a favorable government in Kathmandu is not enough; they want the overall political environment of Nepal to be on their side.  

Political analyst Lokraj Baral says both the BJP and CPC are adopting “a realistic approach” in building ties with Nepal’s political parties. 

“There is no ideological foundation in such relationships because both sides want to appease each other to enhance their power.” 

Baral says the CPC is still more partial toward Nepali communist parties, even though it has increased its engagements with other political forces.

This week, Yuan Jiajun, member of the political bureau of CPC visited Nepal at the invitation of the ruling Maoist Center. During his stay, Jiajun met leaders from across the political spectrum. As Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was out of the country, the Chinese leader held a virtual meeting with him. 

While the Chinese leader was in Kathmandu, a five-member delegation led by Phampha Bhushal of the Maoist party flew to India at the invitation of the BJP. The ties between the BJP and Maoist are only just evolving. Sources say lately, India's ruling party has also been approaching the UML.  

As for the Nepali Congress, it has always been close to India. Last year, the BJP had invited a group of leaders from the Congress party, which was led by Prakash Sharan Mahat. Former prime minister and Congress president, Sher Bahadur Deuba, had also visited the BJP headquarters in India before holding bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The engagement between China’s CPC and Nepal’s Maoist party has been there for a long time. During the insurgency period, Beijing largely supported Nepal’s monarchy, but it took no time to reach out to the Maoists, led by Prime Minister Dahal, after the party came to power following the fall of monarchy. Ideological proximity between the CPC and Maoist party brought them together. In the past six months, at least two Maoist delegations including one led by former speaker Agni Sapkota have visited China.  

Since the Maoist party is in power right now, Prime Minister Dahal is making utmost effort to strike a balance between India and China. He needs the support of both the CPC and BJP to stay in power.

But scores of Maoist leaders believe that they should step up engagement with China to reap the benefit from its economic development.

They are of the view that Nepal should immediately implement the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other agreements reached between the two countries. Through cooperation with Nepal’s political parties, China wants to replicate its development model in Nepal, not export its political ideology, say some experts. 

Due to increased interactions, Nepali leaders too have started appreciating China’s development and its model.

During his talks with Nepali leaders, Chinese leader Jiajun said that China is willing to deepen practical cooperation under the BRI with Nepal, and deeply and solidly promote the strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity between two countries.

China’s Xinhua news agency reported that the CPC is willing to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with Nepali political parties to boost the development of China-Nepal relations. Jiajun told Nepali leaders that China is willing to enhance cooperation and exchanges with Nepal in agriculture, poverty reduction and education to enrich the relationship between the two countries through subnational exchanges.

Tanka Karki, former Nepali ambassador to China, says it is normal to build party-to-party relationships and there is nothing harmful about it. “Both countries want to enhance people-to-people relationship and political parties remain a key instrument of it.”

The relationship between Nepal’s Maoist party and the BJP is a new one. In July last year, as a party chair, Dahal visited the BJP headquarters in New Delhi and held talks with BJP President JP Nadda. After one year, BJP hosted the Maoists delegation in its party office for what they call to strengthen party-to-party relationship.

Perhaps, it is the result of cordial ties between the BJP and Nepal’s political parties, many Nepali politicians including Prime Minister Dahal are talking about protecting and promoting Hindu religion and culture.  

Not only India and China, the US, the UK and the EU countries are also trying to enhance their influence among Nepal’s political parties through bilateral exchanges and visits. They are mainly close with parliamentarians to influence the law-making process in Nepal.  

Political analyst Chandra Dev Bhatta says India and China’s increased engagements between the political parties of Nepal, can certainly be helpful to enhance relations at the political level which can also percolate at the peoples level.

“This is also particularly important when diametrically opposite political parties in terms of ideology are in power on both sides— BJP in India and Maoist Centre in Nepal. It will help resolve contentious issues between the two countries,” he says. “But if such engagements are done merely for other interests either to stay in power or to create a comfortable regime, they could backfire and damage the relations.”

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) on Wednesday registered a proposal of public importance at the House of Representatives demanding fair investigation into the 100 kg gold smuggling case.

Party lawmakers along with President Rabi Lamichhane on behalf of the RSP filed a resolution proposal at the Parliament this afternoon.

In the proposal, the party said that the government should be accountable on the issue of gold smuggling and the Home Minister should answer in the Parliament.

The RSP has demanded that the government should study and investigate from the point of criminology that why criminals are easily using Nepal as a transit hub for gold smuggling.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Revenue Investigation Department had recovered 100 kg gold, passed undetected from the customs office of the Tribhuvan International Airport, from Sinamangal.

Police have already arrested 16 persons for their alleged involvement in the gold smuggling.

The integrated check post (ICP) along the Nepal-India border in Nepalgunj has not been brought into operation even after one and a half months of its inauguration.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi had jointly inaugurated the ICP in Nepalgunj-Rupaidiya in June.

They had inaugurated the check post remotely from Hyderabad House, the Office of the Indian Prime Minister. The ICP is expected to facilitate improved cross-border connectivity between Nepal and India.

Chief of Building Division Office in Nepalgunj, Bijay Keshar Khanal, said that the ICP has not been brought into operation as the construction company has not handed over the building to the government. Likewise, the tasks of the physical works are still ongoing.

Similarly, the jobs of human resource management and security arrangement are likely to compete soon, he added.

Khanal stated that it could take some two more months for the operation of the ICP in Nepalgunj.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that his government has launched a new move to establish social justice, good-governance, development works and prosperity in the country.

At a program organized in Rome by Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), Italy chapter in his reception, the PM said that the government has taken stern steps against corruption and ill-practices.

The PM said that his government is working to control anomalies, ensure prompt service delivery and bring about massive changes in people's life from the beginning of its formation.

People's longstanding woes for passport collection and driving license are over now and the economy has been brought on track now, the PM told the Nepali diaspora in Italy and Europe.

Currently, PM Dahal is in Italy to attend the United Nations Food Systems Summit+ 2 Stocktaking Moment taking place at the FAO Headquarters in Rome of Italy.

"We have worked to bring more and more workers on board the Social Security Fund,” PM Dahal said, adding, “Nepali migrant workers in foreign countries have been linked to the Fund," according to PM Prachanda.

The government is working to ensure social service and direct relief to the people, he added.

Likewise, the government took action in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam since it was an anti-national and an organized crime, the PM said. "The government took this step to clean the dirt," he mentioned.

Furthermore, the PM said that the trend of crime committed to transfer the public land in the name of individuals is coming to an end from the probe into the Lalita Niwas land scam.

This is not an issue just from Lalita Niwas but is linked to the campaign of economic prosperity of the country through new land policy by ending the 'mafia regime' across the country, Prime Minister Dahal said.

Saying that an individual could not end all the heaps of ill-practices amassed in the country, the PM called for support from all Nepalis to end such wrongdoings and ill-practices.

On the occasion, PM Dahal stated that relevance of the latest political transformation will be justified only if people's livelihood was improved. "Sustainability and relevance of the political transformation will not be justified if there was no change in people's livelihood," the PM stated.

Furthermore, PM Dahal said that he was firm to do something for the country and people during his tenure and added that he was working to transform the country's status based on the same determination.

"The party, ideology and leader who fought to bring about changes has more concerns. Whether this transformation bodes well to people or not is my determination while taking responsibility for the prime minister this time," PM Dahal added.

"So, to safeguard the country and people from the accident, important steps have been taken in the capacity of the government's leadership this time," the PM stated.

On the occasion, the PM said that the government is positive to address the issues of NRNA including ensuring market to Nepali goods in Europe and list Nepali as the source country of seasonal workers in Italy and others.

Likewise, the PM said that his informal meetings with the Italian Prime Minister, United Nations Secretary-General and others in the United Nations Food Systems Summit+ 2 in Italy.

The PM also told the NRNs that Nepal-Italy relations would be further deepened after his current visit.

In his speech, PM Dahal assured to address the challenges and issues of Nepali diaspora in Italy adding that he had a chance to closely get familiar with the challenge Nepali citizens are facing in Italy.

Foreign Secretary Bharatraj Paudel and Ambassador of Nepal to Austria Bharat Kumar Regmi shared about the government's commitment to meet the pertinent issues of the NRNs including citizenship issue and others too.

During the event, the participants from the NRNA thanked the Prime Minister for bringing the divided NRNA together.