<figure><img width="960" height="641" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d539c7e80680e0af3a9jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: Amit Machamasi</figcaption></figure>Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the 14th general convention of the Nepali Congress (NC) amidst much fanfare in Bhrikuti Mandap on Friday. The four-day event will select 134 central committee members and 12 office bearers including the chair of the party. Nearly 5,000 delegates have flooded Kathmandu for the jamboree.Five leaders including Deuba, Ram Chandra Paudel, Bimalendra Nidhi, Sherkar Koirala and Prakash Man Singh are vying for the top post. Ten others are running for the general secretary.The voter list will be released on Saturday and the registration of candidates will be held on Sunday. Voting ends Tuesday. Prime Minister Deuba is widely expected to be re-elected as the party leader since his rivals are so divided. <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d559c7e80680e0af3aajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d579c7e80680e0af3abjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="960" height="641" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d5a9c7e80680e0af3acjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d5c9c7e80680e0af3adjpeg.jpg" alt="">The NC convention was rescheduled seven times before it got a go-ahead this week, hot in the tails of the main opposition UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), all of whom have their eyes already set on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/battle-lines-drawn-for-nepal-elections/">the 2023 polls</a>.K P Oli swept UML’s party polls in Chitwan two weeks ago while incumbent party chair of RPP Kamal Thapa was defeated by newbie Rajendra Lingden this week. Thapa then accused ex-king Gyanendra of sabotaging his candidacy.Many expect the election campaign throughout 2022 to focus on secularism and monarchy. <img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d5e9c7e80680e0af3aejpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d619c7e80680e0af3afjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d639c7e80680e0af3b0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="855" height="570" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d659c7e80680e0af3b1jpeg.jpg" alt="">Read Also<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-rudderless-political-leadership/">Nepal’s rudderless politics</a>, Santa Gaha Magar<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/purchasing-power/">Purchasing power</a>, Ramesh Kumar<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-democracy-too-expensive-for-nepal/">Is democracy too expensive for Nepal?,</a> Laxmi Basnet

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Nepali Congress party time

<figure><img width="918" height="645" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d07c59c7e80680e0a5fdbjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepali Times issues #53 (27 July-2 August 2001) and #67 (9-15 November 2001).</figcaption></figure>Sher Bahadur Deuba became Nepal’s prime minister last week, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-accidental-prime-minister/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-accidental-prime-minister/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748497000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEOKQcVt5lo_DELvBty5qp0r8cv0A">won a confidence vote</a> in the House on 18 July. This is familiar terrain for a man who has been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/from-the-fire-into-the-frying-pan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/from-the-fire-into-the-frying-pan/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFBd1bSpQFQVPzpLxHDrFZMfDSSkQ">on this road four times before</a> in the last 26 years.And so have we, here at Nepali Times. Combing through our archives, we dug up the reports, commentaries and cartoons from the past 20 years about Deuba’s previous tenures as prime minister.Few national leaders are offered so many chances to get it right. Yet, as we can see from his past tenures including this one, Deuba has struck when the iron is hot to manoeuvre himself to prime ministership. However, there have not been too many examples of successful governance that stand out.And we hear that Deuba’s astrologers have told him he will be prime minister two more times after this!When Deuba became prime minister for the first time in 1995-97, it was still looking like the restoration of democracy and open economy would allow the country to finally take a great leap forward. Foreign Direct Investment was flowing in. His high-profile wife, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7457" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D7457&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHa4EJo-FajMullZm-SYyZRDjxzZw">Arzoo Deuba</a>, was a key link to the international community.Local elections were beginning to devolve political power to the grassroots, ensuring more accountability and spurring development. But that was when the Maoists decided that parliamentary democracy was too slow to bring an end to a feudal monarchy.Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai handed Deuba a 40-point demand (that included end to Gurkha recruitment and ban on Hindi movies) and an unrealistic deadline of a week to fulfil them. This was essentially a declaration of war, and sure enough on 13 February 1996 the Maoists launched their armed struggle. Deuba ignored the insurgency, and treated it like a law and order issue. But when he finally acted, it was to get the police to launch campaigns code named Kilo Sierra 1 and 2. Ordinary people in the western mountains were terrorised, and this drove them into the Maoist fold.During his <a style="font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6685#.YPVWlS9w0Wo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D6685%23.YPVWlS9w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEga2JokpL9JKkRFJZEoI4FOI5gFg">second term</a> as prime minister in 2001-02 following the massacre of the royal family, the army was dragged into war and casualties escalated. More people were killed in the year after the Royal Nepal Army joined the conflict than in the previous six years. <figure><img width="1202" height="619" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d07c89c7e80680e0a5fdcjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nepali Times issues #199 (4-10 June 2004), #229 (7-13 January 2005) and #859 (9-15 May 2017).</figcaption></figure>In 2002, Deuba dissolved Parliament (much like Oli did this year) declared a state of emergency and was eventually sacked by King Gyanendra who in a televised address called his prime minister “incompetent”.  The king used and disposed of Deuba like a raggedy doll, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2494#.YPVV7y9w0Wo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D2494%23.YPVV7y9w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE6v6VTP1eVpde_WfbZsNbHb2MUrA">bringing him back</a> as prime minister for his third time (<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2548#.YPVXJy9w0Wo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D2548%23.YPVXJy9w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGOoqiHiKJ4_feVzIVbcWnbGGDW3A">2004-05</a>) and then promptly putting him under house arrest for corruption after he staged <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1260#.WS_1fZJ97Dc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D1260%23.WS_1fZJ97Dc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEL0XfIiAV9awGFULZ3UgBg9QnCCA">a royal-military coup</a> on 1 February 2005. Despite the ignominy, Deuba kept <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dahal-deuba-oli,3151" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dahal-deuba-oli,3151&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFPICQ_VeXEU5l9gJkJpAzdZ8xPnw">resurrecting himself</a>. He returned to Baluwatar after 12 years in 2017 after consolidating his grip over the Nepali Congress and cobbling a coalition with the Maoists. Being prime minister between two phases of the election, Deuba after much bargaining with Dahal handed over the Home Ministry to the Maoists. He must have had a strong sense of déjà vu when he had to undertake <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/pm-deuba-iv,3745" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/pm-deuba-iv,3745&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626787748498000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEU8RxRsa5FbgFypOpxoszBOJTtTw">identical negotiations</a> last week with Pushpa Kamal Dahal over the Cabinet. This time, not to repeat the mistake and with an eye on the 2023 elections, Deuba kept the Home Ministry but had to relinquish Finance to the Maoists. Now that he has won the vote in the House, there will be more parties to reward and appease with ministerial posts. There are no permanent friends and foes in politics. But it is an irony of ironies that Deuba is now at the helm with the help of 'Prachanda' who tried to assassinate him, and on whose head he had announced a ransom during the conflict. The return of Sher Bahadur Deuba signifies a break from the paralysing power struggle that prevented the Oli administration from addressing the people’s everyday concerns during the pandemic. The confidence vote this week also saves the exchequer an estimated Rs100 billion for an early election that will now not be needed. And because this is essentially an election government, Deuba will have to get his disparate coalition to perform and deliver like never before. If he can maintain discipline in the Cabinet, showcase transparency, make breakthroughs in vaccination, job creation and disaster relief, voters may take kindly to him. The signs are not good. Even before he won the vote, Deuba got his Nepali Congress colleague Bijya Kumar Gachhedar who had been convicted of corruption released on bail, and he has vowed to release another party member, Aftab Alam, who is in jail for murder. With this kind of track record, and given that this is a coalition with the Maoist Centre, we cannot expect meaningful progress on transitional justice for the victims of the conflict either.  If the Deuba government behaves like it has before, it will only give the UML the chance to exploit the NC's incumbency disadvantage to return to power in 2023.

Deuba's denouement

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07809c7e80680e0a5fc4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="810" height="540"/><figcaption>All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deuba-5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba</a> won a trust vote in the House of Representatives on Sunday, putting an end to more than two years of political turmoil in the country.Deuba filed a motion to seek the vote of confidence when the Parliament reconvened on Sunday, following a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-court-orders-deuba-to-succeed-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Supreme court verdict</a> that restored the Lower House dissolved by his predecessor KP Oli on 22 May.Deuba needed a simple majority of 136 out of 271 members of the current House members to pass the floor test. He received 165 votes out of the 249 members present in Parliament on Sunday. 83 lawmakers voted against him, and 1 lawmaker did not vote.“Deuba is an accidental prime minister, no one has any great expectations from him. We just hope that he will not do the country more harm,” says political analyst Puranjan Acharya.Deuba received votes from lawmakers of the Nepali Congress, Maoist Center, both the Yadav-Bhattarai and Thakur factions of the JSP, as well as Durga Poudel, the only parliamentarian representing the Rastriya Janamorcha Party in the House. 22 lawmakers from the UML also cast their votes for the Prime Minister.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07839c7e80680e0a5fc5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1418" height="945"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07859c7e80680e0a5fc6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07889c7e80680e0a5fc7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Former Prime Minister KP Oli, who was not present inside Parliament for the majority of the House session, walked into the hall as Speaker Agni Sapkota was explaining the voting process to the House members following Prime Minister Deuba’s final address.Deuba will remain Prime Minister until the next general election in early 2023, and the country has avoided holding <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-sets-elections-in-middle-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expensive early elections</a>.“The time has come for us to put the past behind us, and unite beyond party lines to confront the challenges of Covid, the economy and natural disasters in the country,” Deuba told the House before the vote.However, even within days of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/from-the-fire-into-the-frying-pan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">becoming Nepal’s prime minister for the fifth time</a> at age 75, Deuba has already faced criticism for releasing Nepali Congress members jailed for corruption and murder.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d078a9c7e80680e0a5fc8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d078d9c7e80680e0a5fc9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1365" height="910"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Critics have said that if he was really serious about ensuring vaccines for all, he would have prioritised the appointment of a can-do <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/3-health-ministers-in-1-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Health Minister</a> instead of appeasing his Maoist partners with key portfolios.Pradeep Gyawali, who served as foreign minister in the K P Oli cabinet, also addressed Parliament on Sunday, asking MPs not to give Deuba the vote since he was “appointed by judicial proclamation and not the people’s representatives in Parliament”.He also warned <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/parliamentary-whiplash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UML MPs who voted for Deuba</a> that they would no longer be accepted in the party.In a surprise move, UML vice-chair Bhim Rawal, who led the Madhav Nepal faction on the UML in a task force to keep the party intact, resigned from Parliament."In my nearly half-century long political career, I have experienced and faced many political ups and downs and setbacks. Throughout it all, I have worked, believing that our political mechanisms would be dedicated to the national interest, independence, self-respect and the well-being of the Nepali people,” said Rawal outside Parliament.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07909c7e80680e0a5fcajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Reading out his resignation letter outside Parliament, Rawal said that Nepalis are disgusted by the “unbridled and immoral politics of the greedy, self-serving, vindictive, and conspiratorial political leadership at the highest levels”.Many UML leaders like Rawal found themselves between a rock and a hard place after Deuba suddenly called for a House vote. On the one hand, they did not want to support Oli but on the other, voting for Deuba would have split the party in two.Earlier on Sunday, a Standing Committee meeting of the UML had directed its MPs to cast their votes against Deuba, even as leaders of its breakaway Nepal faction reaffirmed their support and intention to vote for the Prime Minister.Till the last moment, the UML task force was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/making-up-is-hard-to-do/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trying to patch up the ego-clash between Nepal and Oli</a> that led to this political debacle. They even offered to appoint an alternative candidate for prime minister from among Bhim Rawal, Subhas Nembang or Bishnu Poudel to replace Oli. But Nepal shot down the idea.Another UML MP Ram Kumari Jhankri was prepared to be evicted from the party to support Deuba in the House vote, saying “it is the duty of our party to support the government”. Twenty-three anti-Oli UML members had signed the writ petition at the Supreme Court demanding restoration of the House and Deuba being appointed PM.Meanwhile, Pushpa Kamal Dahal in his address before the vote delivered a pointed criticism of President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s decision to disregard 149 signatories from the opposition alliance and their claim to form a Deuba-led government in May.“We told the President that there were no ifs or buts when it comes to the Constitution,” Dahal said. “This was a mockery of democracy."<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07929c7e80680e0a5fcbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1120" height="747"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07959c7e80680e0a5fccjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1404" height="936"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07989c7e80680e0a5fcdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As it turned out, with the vote of the entire JSP (including the pro-Oli Mahant Thakur faction) Deuba did not even need the UML’s support to win the House confidence test.Although Mahanta Thakur extended his support to Prime Minister Deuba, he added that Deuba had been appointed “not through the people’s mandate, but the Supreme Court’s order”.“This is a power struggle between you,” Thakur said. “The oppressed communities, the Nepali public will not gain anything from this.”The Prime Minister has so far filled four of his cabinet seats, appointing Nepali Congress leaders Bal Krishna Khand and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki Home as Minister and Law Minister respectively. The Maoist Centre’s Pampha Bhusal and Janardhan Sharma were appointed Energy Minister and Finance Minister respectively.Deuba, leading a five-party alliance of 149 MPs--from the Nepali Congress, the Maoist Centre, as well breakaway factions of the JSP and the UML--<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/reinstate-remove-repeat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had filed a writ petition</a> on 24 May after President Bidya Bhandari thwarted claims from both Oli and and the opposition alliance of a House majority to form the next government.Mohan Shrestha of the royal-right RPP also says that Deuba’s prime ministership may have ended instability for now, but he does not inspire much hope.Shrestha says: “His track record shows that Deuba has tried, tested and failed as prime minister many times. But he does have a final chance to clean up his tainted political career.”

Shristi Karki

Nepal’s ‘accidental prime minister’

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bef0d4b0ad905ca02ef83jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"/><figcaption>All photos: Bikram Rai/Nepali Times</figcaption></figure>After widespread criticism that the Nepali Congress (NC) was not playing the role of a loyal opposition at a time when the country is facing crises on multiple fronts, the party finally took the streets to assert its presence.The NC has only 63 of the 275 seats in the Federal Parliament, and does not control any of the seven provincial governments.Despite its majority, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been paralysed by infighting between its two top leaders, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and party co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bef0f4b0ad905ca02ef84jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bef124b0ad905ca02ef85jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bef144b0ad905ca02ef86jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">The NCP government is widely perceived to have been a failure in governance, presided over corruption in high places, and in the inability to deliver services during the health and economic emergencies caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.Despite this, the NC was seen to be immersed in its own power struggle between Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel. It has not been able to fill the vacuum left by the NCP at a time when Hindu-right groups with tacit support from the Rastriya Prajatantra party (RPP) have been staging ever-bigger rallies across the country to scrap the secular republican constitution.The NC appears to be wary about the RPP pulling the rug from underneath it, if it does not act.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bef174b0ad905ca02ef87jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bef1a4b0ad905ca02ef88jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bef1c4b0ad905ca02ef89jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Prime Minister Oli has used the Covid-19 crisis to keep Parliament in hibernation, and without the Lower House in session the NC had no option to take its protest to the streets.Rallies have been held in Kathmandu and across the country on Monday, with tens of thousands of party workers participating. The protests have been largely peaceful, and Deuba called on his supporters to keep distance and wear masks -- although this call was largely ignored.The NC also needed to show a unified front ahead of its Party Convention, and appears to be gearing up to cash in on the NCP's lack of performance for the next elections in 2022.

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Nepali Congress takes to the streets

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be8109c7e80680e08783ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"/><figcaption>All photos: Bikram Rai/Nepali Times</figcaption></figure>After widespread criticism that the Nepali Congress (NC) was not playing the role of a loyal opposition at a time when the country is facing crises on multiple fronts, the party finally took the streets to assert its presence.The NC has only 63 of the 275 seats in the Federal Parliament, and does not control any of the seven provincial governments.Despite its majority, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been paralysed by infighting between its two top leaders, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and party co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be8139c7e80680e08783bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be8169c7e80680e08783cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be8199c7e80680e08783djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">The NCP government is widely perceived to have been a failure in governance, presided over corruption in high places, and in the inability to deliver services during the health and economic emergencies caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.Despite this, the NC was seen to be immersed in its own power struggle between Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel. It has not been able to fill the vacuum left by the NCP at a time when Hindu-right groups with tacit support from the Rastriya Prajatantra party (RPP) have been staging ever-bigger rallies across the country to scrap the secular republican constitution.The NC appears to be wary about the RPP pulling the rug from underneath it, if it does not act.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be81d9c7e80680e08783ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be8209c7e80680e08783fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be8239c7e80680e087840jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Prime Minister Oli has used the Covid-19 crisis to keep Parliament in hibernation, and without the Lower House in session the NC had no option to take its protest to the streets.Rallies have been held in Kathmandu and across the country on Monday, with tens of thousands of party workers participating. The protests have been largely peaceful, and Deuba called on his supporters to keep distance and wear masks -- although this call was largely ignored.The NC also needed to show a unified front ahead of its Party Convention, and appears to be gearing up to cash in on the NCP's lack of performance for the next elections in 2022.

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‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

How to win friends and influence nations

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday broke tradition and met with 17 foreign envoys collectively, a move that was a notable departure from how his predecessors operated.&nbsp;
Shah had already set himself apart by talking less, listening more, and delegating to trusted friends. But by meeting all ambassadors at one go in the presence of the Foreign Ministry, he signalled a paradigm shift in how he wants Nepal to be seen: no longer just balancing India and China, but as a country confident about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/tripolar-contestation-over-nepal">strategic importance and place in the world</a>.
In just two weeks, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rsp-dos-and-don-ts">RSP has sprung into action </a>on multiple fronts to implement its ambitious 100-point, 100-days action plan. It has taken short-term measures to mitigate the impact of the Gulf war, as well as medium- and long- term measures to streamline the bureaucracy. A few high-profile figures have been made examples of to drive the message home.
Earlier this week, the government recalled six politically appointed ambassadors, the most notable being long-serving Shankar Sharma from New Delhi. The Kathmandu District Court issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his former foreign minister wife Arzu Rana on charges of money laundering and corruption.
Each ministry has been trying to clean up the accumulated rot from the past three decades: regulatory overhaul of microfinance, education, health and service delivery.&nbsp;
These actions widely disseminated campaign-style on YouTube and TikTok have made most Nepalis hopeful that the party they installed in power means business.
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BACKLASH
But such attempts to overhaul a long-entrenched political culture were bound to face backlash. In their impatience and enthusiasm to get things done, some of Prime Minister Shah’s ministers have over-reached.
It was common knowledge that government-paid advertising in the mainstream press was kickback-driven, but the PMO’s directive that official notices be published or broadcast only on state-run media has been denounced — especially as the media industry struggles to stay afloat.
More serious are some recent appointments by ministers of relatives and figures closely associated with the RSP to key positions. This has rankled because this party built its political plank on ending nepotism and graft.&nbsp;
News that Home Minister Sudan Gurung allegedly had not paid rent on leased land, which illegally encroached on the lake in Pokhara did not help. &nbsp;
Prime Minister Shah himself has come under scrutiny for appointing a kitchen cabinet full of male buddies from his time as Kathmandu mayor. To douse criticism he brought in as adviser investigative journalist Deepa Dahal, who has exposed corruption in high places of the previous coalitions.&nbsp;
Shah’s appointment of another political adviser Asim Shah to the head Constitution Amendment Task Force, is also seen as problematic. He is a filmmaker and former lawmaker, but does not have a background in constitutional law.&nbsp;
Even more controversial is the Cabinet’s decision to appoint RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane’s legal counsel, Narayan Kandel, as Attorney General. Kandel used to be a UK permanent resident, and does not have as much experience practicing law in Nepal.&nbsp;
Kandel’s appointment drew flak and raised eyebrows, and with the pending legal cases against Lamichhane this appointment represents a flagrant conflict of interest.
Health Minister Nisha Mehta was also accused of favouritism after reappointing Junu Shrestha, wife of Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Shah, as member of the Health Insurance Board which had earlier suspended her. The Labour Minister’s rambling rant at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday has not helped the RSP’s image.&nbsp;
(UPDATE: On Thursday, Prime Minister Shah sacked the Labour Minister after the RSP found him in breach of the party's code of conduct and discipline. He served 14 days in the Cabinet, one of the shortest tenures for a minister in Nepal )
It is hard to know what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Balendra Shah is thinking</a>, and how Rabi Lamichhane is going to justify some of these moves. After all, making politics, governance, and bureaucracy a meritocracy has been the core tenet of the RSP, and it risks alienating its mainly youth base if these missteps persist.
But at least for now, most RSP supporters seem to be giving the party the benefit of doubt.

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Nepali Congress takes to the streets

Nepali Congress takes to the streets

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How to win friends and influence nations

Nepal’s new government springs into action