Finally, we have found an old new prime minister in the form of KP Sharma Oli, who has risen to pow­er on a platform of delivering stability and prosperity. Oli is arguably the most admired living politician in Nepal right now, thanks to his nationalist rhetoric the last time he was prime minister in 2015-16, and more recently with the formation of the Left Alliance and its promise of stability and development. The last time Oli was prime minister, the country was reeling from the devas­tation wrought by the earthquake and strangled by the Indian blockade. Oli took a strong stand against the blockade, for which his party, the CPN-UML, has been rewarded with a solid majority across the three tiers of gov­ernment—local, provincial and central.

As such, the public has great expecta­tions from Oli. He has repeatedly made big promises to transform the country. Now he has been given a chance.

So the question is whether Oli will be able to keep any of his big promises. Whether it be bringing Chinese railway or developing hydropower or increasing ordinary Nepalis’ per capita income, Oli will need to find some ways if he intends to maintain his popularity.

But if we look at his record, Oli has not delivered much. Although he stoked nationalist sentiments, he could not go beyond rhetoric. He signed some bilat­eral deals with China during his tenure as prime minister, which was the back­bone of his ‘development’ agenda on the campaign trail. But infrastructure deals are not new for Nepal-China relations; it is their implementation that is novel.

The rise of Oli in Nepali politics is quite mysterious. What we do know for certain is his ties with various goons and mafia figures and his assertive words and body language. In recent years, Oli grew to be the most powerful man in UML.Under Oli’s protection, a new group of oligarchs has emerged in Nepal. These people do not hold formal government positions; they are in the private sector, but control much of what is going on in the public sector. These oligarchs care little about who is in the government, but work to ensure that major political actors across the spectrum have been won over.

Oli was one of the strongest support­ers of this group of criminal business­men, and now that their power is no longer under the control of the political class, Oli will have to negotiate with them at every step while he leads the government. How Oli will manage to deliver on his development dreams in the face of powerful resistance by the goons he once groomed and sheltered will be interesting to watch.

In essence, Oli projects two images of himself—the protector of oligarchs and the messiah of development. For instance, one day he speaks publicly in favor of the likes of Ajaya Sumargi, a nouveau riche oligarch who, it is sus­pected, became an overnight billionaire with the blessings of the Maoists and plenty of money laundering. The next day, Oli is back to feeding the masses the promise of increased income and high speed transit.

Interestingly, in Sumargi’s case, even the Supreme Court seemed to side with Oli and allowed the scandalous man to access funds frozen by the central bank. The popular understanding is that with the shift in power, Sumargi’s loyalties have also shifted to Oli.

Likewise, a recent picture of Oli and Prachanda having lunch with the owner of the proposed B and C Medical Col­lege went viral on social media. Nepal’s political future is being mediated by such middlemen. And as long as these middlemen meddle in our statecraft, the promise of development will likely remain just a promise.

As for Oli, two conflicting images of one man cannot coexist forever. He will have to choose one and reveal that choice based on the decisions he makes in the coming weeks. KP Oli’s public trial begins now.