The post of Prime Minister is in Oli’s pocket


KP Sharma Oli had to step down as the Prime Minister after failing to get a majority in the
House of Representatives. After that, President Bidyadevi Bhandari had issued a three-day
directive to the opposition party to form a government with a majority. However, after the
opposition failed to form a government with a majority, KP Oli again became the prime minister.
With just hours to go before the new government was formed, the opposition Sher Bahadur
faction of the opposition Congress did not claim the PM’s job. Congress, UCPN (Maoist) Center
and JSP Chairman Baburam Bhattarai and Upendra Yadav’s group have also failed to get a
majority.

Meanwhile, JSP leaders Mahanta Thakur and Rajendra Mahat’s group will not support
the formation of the government on Thursday. On the other hand, UCPN (M) Central Committee
Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had fallen for the UML’s Madhav
faction. If Madhav resigned from the Nepali side, the opposition would have succeeded in
forming a new government with a majority. Madhav’s party had also signaled his resignation.
But in the meeting held with Oli on Thursday, the action taken against the four leaders of
Madhav’s party has worked fast. After the announcement of Fukuwa’s action, there was no talk
of Madhav’s side resigning. As the new majority government has not been formed, the post of
Prime Minister has finally fallen to Oli.


President Bhandari had instructed the opposition to form a new government with a majority as
per Article 762 of the Constitution. If the government cannot be formed accordingly, according
to Article 76 (3) of the constitution, Oli will be the prime minister.
UCPN (Maoist) Central Committee Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar had
reached Deuba’s residence in Budhanilkantha urging him to lead the Nepali government.
Initially, Deuba and Prachanda did not show any interest in the proposal, so Prachanda and
Nepal returned disappointed. There was talk that the Oli government would fall and the
opposition party would form a government led by the Congress. Even so, Prachanda and Nepal
had reached out to Deuba. With Deuba assuming the post of Prime Minister, there was no doubt
that the government would now be run by the Congress. But Nepali politics did not run in a
straight line.

The Oli government continued to run the government on its own. UCPN (M)
Chairman Prachanda had repeatedly called on Deuba to become the Prime Minister. Leader of
the party Ram Chandra Poudyal’s party had asked to be ready to run the government. But Deuba
was silent saying that he should not throw stones without ripening the fruit. After Oli himself
decided to take a vote of confidence in the parliament, he decided not to give a vote of
confidence to Oli. Despite losing to Oli, he could not reach a decision on his candidacy for the

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