Nepal PM in trouble as Maoists withdraw support

The KP Oli government in Nepal faces threats after key ally UCPN (Maoist) decided to withdraw support and form a national unity government under its leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, with the main opposition Nepali Congress and Madhesi parties agreeing to back its move.

The Oli-led government now appears unlikely to present the Budget as the government is set to be overthrown in the coming days.

The overnight political move by the Maoists brought a political storm in Kathmandu and Unified Communist Party of Nepal (UCPN-Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal took centre-stage of politics all of a sudden.

The Maoist party is among the key parties in the nearly seven-month-old Oli government and, due to the numbers factor, the government may easily collapse if it withdraws support.

Prachanda, who served as prime minister for a brief period from August 18, 2008 to May 25, 2009, is now busy mustering political support to become the prime minister again even as Oli was busy trying to save his chair.

A meeting between the top leaders of Nepali Congress and Madhes-based parties decided to topple the Oli government and the Madhes parties urged the NC to take the lead. However, the Nepali Congress, the largest party in parliament, has not yet officially decided on the name of the new PM-offering the post instead to Dahal.