- Monday, 6 October 2025
Ritu Raj Subedi
Prachanda’s Third Innings Treading A Tightrope
CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has kicked off his third innings as Nepal’s Prime Minster with the backing of newly formed 7-party coalition. He was appointed a new PM in a dramatic twist of the political events marked by dissolution of an old alliance and creation of the new one that is a medley of incompatible ideologies. By becoming the new head of government, Prachanda is poised to burnish his old image as a revolutionary leader to check the fast erosion of his party’s influence and support base as seen in the recent federal and provincial elections.
Print Media Enjoys Greater Credibility
Freedom of speech, a free press and right to information constitute fundamental characteristics of democracy in modern time. In a liberal democracy, free speech has been touted as an inalienable part of political and social life. However, free speech and press freedom alone does not strengthen democracy and serve the public. Experiences and examples show that lies, rumours and misinformation
Ethical Politics On The Wane
The revolt, betrayal and realignment that took place on the eve of filing the candidacy for the federal and provincial elections slated for next month are sure to deliver unpredictable electoral shocks to the political parties.
Shun Politics Over Citizenship Issue
The Office of President and the government are at odds after President Bidya Devi Bhandari returned the Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006 (First Amendment) Bill to the federal parliament for a review. President Bhandari put forth 15 concerns and suggestions on the Bill but the House of Representatives (HoR) ignored her suggestions and re-endorsed it as it is. Bhandari is unhappy with the executive under the five-party alliance that gave short shrift to her message. The citizenship should be a means of connecting citizens and mustering their loyalty to the nation but it has unfortunately divided the political spectrum. Moreover, it has been politicised for partisan gains, which will have long-term negative impact on the Nepali society.
FM Khadka’s Visit To China Adds Impetus To Bilateral Bond
This year, Nepal and China marked 67th anniversary of their diplomatic relation which was established on August 1, 1955. Although there were no remarkable activities to mark the occasion, Nepal-China ties have come into the spotlight in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan that triggered much controversy, forcing China to desperately muster support for its One-China Policy on a global scale. Nepal, on its part, has reiterated this policy that it has maintained since the opening of formal relations much to the satisfaction of the northern neighbour.
Mutual Insults Mar Left Movement
It seems conflict, mutual accusation and eventual split are inherent in the communist and socialist movement since its inception. The First International, which was the common name of International Working Men’s Association, collapsed owing to the raging dispute between Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin. Their conflict was more ideological than personal though the issue of nationality had apparent role in driving a wedge between them. Marx suspected that Bakunin was a Russian agent working to subvert the international labour movement. He accused the leader of anarchists of being devoid of political theory while the latter called the former an ‘authoritarian.’ Marx stressed on organisation’s centralised structure, coherent ideology and workers’ participation in political struggle, which Bakunin rejected in favour of ‘libertarian socialism.’
Liu Invokes BP To Coax NC
As Nepal has become a new geopolitical hotspot, China has strengthened ‘strategic communication’ with Nepal’s political parties in a clear bid to minimise the Western influence in its backyard. In his recent four-day Nepal visit, Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), interacted with major political forces, seeking their role in enhancing Nepal-China relations and addressing its growing security concerns here.
Unified Socialist Heads To Bumpy Ride
Almost 10 months after its establishment, the CPN-Unified Socialist (US) faced an existential crisis. Though it succeeded to overcome the threat to its internal unity, the fissiparous tendency posed a question to its foundational objectives and ideals. When the party decided to recall its ministers and replace them with a new team, the incumbent ministers challenged the leadership. Altogether 10 lawmakers, including the four ministers, submitted their signatures to the party chair Madhav Kumar Nepal, showing their reservation about its decision to call them back prior to the approval of annual budget by the two Houses of federal parliament.
Plugging Diplomatic Loopholes
With the government’s decision to withdraw from the US State Partnership Programme (SPP), Nepal has ridden out a geopolitical storm, thanks to the broader understanding shown by the government, political parties, civil society and media fraternity. The rejection of SPP indicates that Nepal can forge consensus on the key foreign policy issues that were botched up by ham-fisted approach of political and bureaucratic actors in the past. This has once again reaffirmed importance of non-alignment and balanced policy that shuns any form of adventurism in the country’s international relations. Nepal requires common stand in fixing cracks in foreign policy but divisive and partisan politics has bruised its international image and weakened its ability to deal with mighty neighbours and global powers.
Shun Politics On Garbage
Politics has been often derided as dirty game but these days we have confronted with similar term ‘politics of garbage’ that has exposed the inefficiency of elected officials and tainted the image of Kathmandu as pristine and beautiful city. The ongoing waste disposal problem began to worsen with the recent local election. As the people visited polling booths to cast their vote, they endured the foul smell of garbage heaped and littered at the corners of the streets. The piles of waste dumped on the roads were telltale sign of deficient governance. The disgusting scene was one factor that alienated the voters from the mainstream parties, prompting them to vote for independent candidate Balendra Shah for the post of Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
UML’s Premiership Offer: A Red Herring
Following the local level polls, the country’s politics has taken a new course. The ruling Nepali Congress has emerged the largest party while the main opposition CPN-UML has been demoted to the second position. This shift in the power balance of the political parties was a foregone conclusion owing to the vertical split of UML and formation of five-party alliance but now political market is currently heated by the ‘proxy offers’ of prime ministerial post to CPN-Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and CPN-Unified Socialist chair Madhav Kumar Nepal by the UML although both the leaders have refused to rise to the bait.
Making Republican System Robust
On May 28, 2008, the first Constituent Assembly (CA) declared Nepal as federal democratic republic, abolishing the 240-year-old monarchy. The new constitution, promulgated by the second CA in 2015, institutionalised the new political and administrative system. The country ushering in a republican state marks a defining moment for Nepalis as they become the sources of supreme power guaranteed by the national charter.
Local Polls: Outcome And Message
Every election comes with surprises and shocks. As the elections provide citizens an opportunity to express their inner voice through ballots in five years, they never hesitate to stand against the status quo. This year’s local election has also delivered sensational outcomes. Voters in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the country’s political heartland, have showed their clear disdain for partycracy that tends to undermine popular sovereignty. They voted for an independent candidate and punished mainstream parties for their patronage-based political behaviour and failure to deliver on their promises. This trend is also evident in some other important cities across the country.Independent candidate Balen Sah, who is poised to become a mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, has become a political sensation all of a sudden. His rapper background enabled him to communicate with a large number of youths fed up with traditional political leadership. As a structural engineer, he rolled out development vision for the capital city, drawing the attention of cross-section of population. Ever-spreading digital and social media gave him an effective platform to reach out to diverse segments of people. Wake-up call With the information revolution, the citizens have been so empowered that they no longer need political parties to channel their aspirations and demands. Politics has become personal, substituting the party as an agency to bridge between the government and people. This has indeed brought a crisis to the relevance of parties globally. When the citizens get frustrated with underperforming political parties, they turn to alternative forces or figures to come out of the rut. The craze particularly of young people towards Balen Sah is a wake-up call for the parties for their reform and democratisation.Meanwhile, the local poll has dealt a big blow to the main opposition CPN-UML. Owing to the party’s vertical split and five-party’s electoral alliance, the UML has not only lost a record number of local levels but is also ousted from the leadership of metropolises that will surely hurt its prospect in provincial and federal polls due later this year. Ruling Nepali Congress became the biggest beneficiary of the electoral alliance after it emerged the largest party from the polls. The CPN-Maoist Centre did not only retain its third position but also improved on its electoral performance, winning more than a dozen additional local units. While the NC and Maoist Centre leaders are puffing up the success of alliance, its two constituents – Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) and CPN-Unified Socialist – have lamented that they did not benefit much from the alliance. JSP and Unified Socialist have become fourth and fifth force from the polls respectively. Given its strength in federal and provincial legislatures, the newly formed Unified Socialist is unable to bag expected seats but its victory in mayoral posts in Pokhara Metropolitan City and Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City has given it much-needed boost, which it can capitalise on expanding organisation base and increase its stakes in the upcoming elections. It has inflicted a humiliating defeat on the UML, its sworn-enemy, in both cities. With moderate victory, the Unified Socialist has averted its potential existential crisis, dismissing a hypothesis that a splinter party gradually peters out over the years. Even if it failed to garner impressive number of seats, it played a critical role in defeating the UML in many places, which was its main political mission. Unless the UML realises that the party split was the main factor behind its huge loss, it will further suffer in the next polls. Deflated by the election debacle, the UML has decided to end its 9-month-long obstruction in the House of Representatives (HoR) and recognised the Unified Socialist as a political party. One UML leader went on to say that there was no rationale to continuously disrupt the parliament over its demand to sack 14 Unified Socialist lawmakers since the people have acknowledged its very existence. Diversity The local election has rejected the UML’s claim that the country will move on the path of two-party model. It is bizarre that the UML, whose guiding principle is based on ‘People’s Multiparty Democracy,’ is vouching for the Anglo-Saxon capitalist model of two-party system. In a country where social, cultural and ethnic diversities exist, the two-party system does not give alternatives to the people. Political scientists argue that two-party system functions well where society has been crystallised into two ideologies, two classes and two educational systems. It is not essentially bad but it simply does not represent, articulate and mediate cross-cutting interests and values of the Nepali society. With the rise of Maoist Centre as the decisive third force, the NC and the UML have to muster its support for electing their candidates vying for the post of president, vice-president and members of National Assembly.The poll results show the five-party alliance has swept through in most of the places though it had forged alliance only in one-third of them. It would have hit big if the alliance had been made in other local units by recognising the local reality and spirit of local leadership. Nonetheless, the political parties should read new trends and the message manifested by the local poll. Why are independent candidates more popular than that of parties? Why did the voter turnout drop this time as compared with that of local polls held in 2017? Why did the people vote for new faces and dump the old ones? The political parties should take their cue from these developments and take bold measures to sort out the organisational and leadership deficiencies.(The author is Deputy Executive Editor of the daily.)
Local Polls: A Democratic Milestone
Nepal’s federal republican system is set to attain another milestone this week. The country goes for the local elections on May 13 for the second time after it became a federal democratic republic with the promulgation of new constitution in 2015. The local polls deepen the grassroots democracy and decentralised form of governance. Democracy is a bottom-up process and the local election gives momentum to this process by sending the fresh representatives to the public offices. It nourishes popular sovereignty essential for the legitimacy and functionality of the federal set-up.
Media Ethics And Gorkhapatra
In 1871, Karl Marx wrote a letter to the Paris Commune. But Le Figaro, a French daily morning newspaper, published a completely different version of the letter with Marx’s signature. It apparently aimed to blow Marx’s thoughts on the international labour movement out of proportion. It reads: “...Then the world will belong to us, for it will be not only Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, which will rise against odious capitals, but Berlin, London, Brussels, St. Petersburg, New York. And before this new insurrection, such a history has yet to be known, the past will disappear like a hideous nightmare; for the popular conflagration, kindled at hundred points at once, will destroy even its memory!”
