<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39fe29c7e80680e0d7010jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="2500"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal cleared a floor test in Parliament, securing 268 out of 270 votes of confidence to keep his position.With 89 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress (NC) deciding to back him, Nepal’s Parliament has become a one horse race.The Maoist Centre (MC) chair was appointed Prime Minister after breaking the five-party coalition led by Sher Bahadur Deuba’s NC and with support from seven parties led by K P Oli’s UML. The Dahal-Deuba alliance fell through following a failure to agree on who would be Prime Minister first under their power-sharing deal.That the main opposition party (and one that had most seats in Parliament) chose to give Dahal the vote of confidence has invited much concern and criticism, both from within and outside Parliament.Only two parties, who have one lawmaker each in Parliament, voted against Dahal on Tuesday:  Rastriya Janamorcha Party (RJP) chair Chitra Bahadur KC, and Nepal Majdur Kisan Party (NMKP) leader Prem Suwal.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-political-economy/"> Nepal’s political economy</a>, Editorial"Opposition to the government is crucial in a democratic system. Without a strong opposition, government becomes autocratic,” thundered Chitra Bahadur KC in his address to the House. “What we have seen today sets a dangerous precedent, and weakens our democracy.”A leader of the third-largest party in Parliament that commands just 32 seats — only 18 of which were obtained through direct ballots —becoming Prime Minister was already illogical to begin with. Now, he has no opposition at all.Deuba’s decision to give Dahal his party’s vote of confidence has diminished NC’s role and responsibility to be a watchdog (some would say lapdog) of government. A Parliament sans opposition means there is no one to hold power to account.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39fe69c7e80680e0d7011jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>For his part, Deuba remarked that his party had decided to give Dahal his party’s vote of confidence to protect the Constitution from the coalition itself, referring to Oli’s comments about dissolving Parliament.That Dahal and Deuba have come together after their divorce indicates the fear both have that K P Oli of the UML was becoming the power behind the throne in the coalition. The NC’s decision to back Dahal would most certainly clip the UML’s wings slightly.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/for-whom-the-bell-tolls/">For whom the bell tolls</a>, Shristi KarkiHowever, in giving the new Prime Minister his vote of confidence, Deuba once again went against notable leaders of his own party, including Shekhar Koirala, Gagan Thapa, Bishwa Prakash Sharma and newly elected young MP Pradip Poudel, who had been firmly and openly against supporting Dahal.Dahal and Oli has have a rocky partnership themselves, and many have doubts about how long this coalition will last. Oli himself seemed to warn Deuba not to act too smart in a speech to Parliament on Tuesday, saying: “Any attempt by the NC to spring a political trap will be unwise and fruitless.”But Deuba’s show of support has also tipped the scales of power a bit more towards Dahal, who had been at a disadvantage since he lost key positions for his party to Oli and the UML in favour of securing the premiership for himself.While another confidence motion cannot be called for two years, any party can exit the coalition at any time. Given the past bad blood between Oli and Dahal, there is every possibility of them falling out again, which Deuba can capitalise on.Dahal’s alliance also includes Rabi Lamichhane’s independent RSP, Rajendra Lingden’s royal-right RPP, Ramsahay Prasad Yadav-led JSP, former separatist CK Raut’s Janamat, and the Tharu-dominant Nagarik Unmukti.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-dahal-political-deja-vu/">Oli-Dahal political déjà vu</a>, Santa Gaha Magar<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39fea9c7e80680e0d7012jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2480" height="1624"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal’s government is now a melting pot of career as well as anti-establishment politicians, royalists and communists, as well as pro and anti-federalist forces.With the relationship between leaders of the left-led coalition as unpredictable as it is, the RSP as the fourth-largest party in parliament will play an even more important role for both the Maoists and the UML in the future. Which party it aligns with on agendas could determine the future of  provincial governments and federalism respectively.Meanwhile, the Janamat and Nagarik Unmukti parties will look to expand their political influence as well as leverage to free their members, like the Resham Chaudhary, from prison.Following the confidence vote, all eyes will now be on the selection of the Speaker on 19 January, the next President, as well as the 17 unfilled Cabinet positions.Dahal having secured the premiership for himself means the UML and the RSP had more say in ministries and presidency. But the NC joining in support of Dahal has complicated Oli’s plans.The challenge for Dahal now will be to appease leaders of multiple parties with limited positions so that he might keep his shaky alliance intact.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-year-challenge-to-new-government/"> New year challenge to new government</a>, Editorial

Shristi Karki

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Nepal's opposition-less Parliament

<figure><img width="640" height="893" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07139c7e80680e0a5f9cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>At 75, Sher Bahadur Deuba is Nepal’s prime minister for the fifth time in 26 years -- joining the ranks of other serial prime ministers Surya Bahadur Thapa and Girija Prasad Koirala. That fact alone shows that the structural defects in Nepali politics remain intact, so politicians can keep returning to power without learning from, and atoning to, past mistakes.Deuba first became prime minister of a coalition government under similar circumstances in 1995 after the Supreme Court overturned the decision to dissolve Parliament by Manmohan Adhikari, who was leading a minority UML government.Since then, Deuba has led the country through key moments in Nepal’s history: during King Birendra’s reign, after King Gyanendra’s coup, in interim governments after the peace accord in 2006, and during the first federal elections in 2017 under the new Constitution.But Deuba’s long political career is replete with mis-steps and controversy.He must have had a sense of déjà vu as he challenged K P Oli’s leadership, since he himself dissolved Parliament during his second term in 2002, after which King Gyanendra sacked him for being ‘incompetent’.Deuba was then dismissed by his Nepali Congress (NC), which led him to found a breakaway faction. The same kind of power struggle that brought down the UML also plagued his party: first with GP Koirala and currently with Ram Chandra Paudel as the NC prepares for its convention.Deuba was in power when he waged war on the Maoists, who had placed a bounty, dead or alive, on his head. The fact that he now shares power with Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Centre proves the adage that there are no permanent enemies in politics.In 2005, after his third tenure, Deuba was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for corruption, but was released after the court dismissed the case.After the 2017 election, Deuba handed over prime ministership to K P Oli. But even while Oli fought off the leadership challenge from the Dahal-Nepal combine, Deuba did not join them till earlier this year. It must have been Deuba’s destiny to bookend Oli’s term as Prime Minister and succeed him.Deuba’s fifth term is already off to a shaky start, and the choice of Pampha Bhusal and Janardan Sharma from the Maoist Centre in powerful ministries shows the kind compromises he has made with Dahal.Deuba also has a month to face a floor test in the House. If he can get 136 votes out of 271 seats, he can govern till elections in 2023. If he cannot, then Nepal has to go for early elections in six months. In May, the anti-Oli alliance under Deuba’s leadership had the support of 149 lawmakers — 61 from his own NC, 49 from the MC, 23 members of the UML Nepal faction, and 12 from the Yadav-Bhattarai faction of the JSP. The 23 votes of the Nepal faction will be crucial for Deuba, and some Nepal loyalists know that the UML will split if they vote for Deuba. But party insiders say there is now too much bad blood for Oli to offer Nepal the olive branch.Most Nepalis, while glad that the uncertainty in the UML has ended, are dismayed that the parties could find no one more promising than Deuba to lead the country. Deuba’s first task is to bring his disparate Cabinet members to make up for time that the Oli government squandered in dealing with the Covid-19 health and economic emergency, obtain vaccines to prevent a third wave, and deal with a disastrous monsoon season.They do not have high hopes.

Deuba.5

<figure><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d06fd9c7e80680e0a5f95jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>On Tuesday, Sher Bahadur Deuba <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/reinstate-remove-repeat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was appointed Nepal’s Prime Minister for the fifth time</a> in 26 years.The 75-year old veteran of Nepali politics is one of three leaders to have been appointed Prime Minister five times in the country’s political history, joining the ranks of Rastriya Prajatantra Party leader Surya Bahadur Thapa and Nepali Congress monolith Girija Prasad Koirala. Deuba took over the lead after the Supreme Court ordered him to be appointed as the next Prime Minister and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-court-orders-deuba-to-succeed-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">restored the House of Representatives</a> that Prime Minister KP Oli had dissolved for the second time on 22 May.Deuba first became Prime Minister of a coalition government under similar circumstances, after Prime Minister Manmohan Adhikari, leading a minority government, tried and failed to dissolve parliament in 1995.Since then, Deuba has been at the helm through key moments in Nepal’s history: during King Birendra's reigh, after King Gyanendra’s coup, in interim governments after the peace accord in 2006, and during the first elections at all three levels of Nepal’s federal government. <img width="2048" height="1322" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07009c7e80680e0a5f96jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="437" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07039c7e80680e0a5f97jpeg.jpg" alt="">But Deuba’s long political career has been mired in uncertainties and controversies. His political fight to stop KP Oli from dissolving parliament is reminiscent of when Deuba himself dissolved Parliament during his second term in 2002, following which he was removed as Prime Minister by King Gynandera, who branded him incompetent. Deuba was then dismissed from his own party, which led him to found the breakaway Nepali Congress (Democratic).In 2005, after his third term as Prime Minister and subsequent removal by King Gyanendra, Deuba was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison after the then Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) claimed to have found him involved in corruption in the $500 million Melamchi drinking water project. He was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10699#.YO-uNdUzaJA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">released </a>after the court ruled the anti-corruption panel unconstitutional. In 2018, Deuba resigned during his fourth term to make way for KP Oli’s appointment to office. And having succeeded him on Tuesday, Deuba effectively bookended Oli’s terms as Prime Minister.Deuba’s fifth term was off to a shaky start, with his oath of office on Tuesday having been delayed following a controversy over the initial letter from the Office of the President, which failed to mention the constitutional provision under which he was appointed Prime Minister. The newly-appointed Prime Minister must now seek a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives within 30 days under Article 76(6) of the Constitution. Deuba will need a simple majority of 136 out of 271 current members in Parliament to pass the floor test and retain office. <figure><img width="2016" height="1186" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07079c7e80680e0a5f98jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In May, Deuba in his attempt to lead the country had the support of 149 lawmakers of the opposition alliance, which included 61 members of his own Nepali Congress, 49 lawmakers from the Maoist Centre, 23 members from the dissident Nepal faction of the UML, and 12 from the Yadav-Bhattarai faction of the JSP. Now, with Madhav Kumar Nepal, who led the dissident UML faction in support of Deuba’s Prime Ministership bid, withdrawing his support from the opposition alliance, Deuba’s biggest challenge lies in securing a majority in parliament.If Deuba passes the floor test, he will remain Prime Minister for the remainder of the tenure of the House. If he fails to get a vote of confidence, Deuba will have to make way for and preside over snap elections to be held within the next six months under Article 76 (7) of the Constitution. <img width="317" height="462" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d07099c7e80680e0a5f99jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="1271" height="850" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d070c9c7e80680e0a5f9ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>For his part, Oli had been trying to patch things up with Nepal before the Supreme Court ruling to try to retain party unity. However, that did not stop the outgoing Prime Minister in his address to the nation on Monday from casting the responsibility of the court’s verdict on the ‘chaotic and undisciplined’ dissident UML signatories who supported Deuba to become Prime Minister. As it stands, some lawmakers from the Nepal faction have assured that they will still back Deuba in Parliament. “We will definitely vote for him, as we have clearly stated in the writ petition submitted to the apex court,” said UML’s Birodh Khatiwoda. UML leader Kalyani Khadka also reaffirmed her support for Deuba, saying that the repeated dissolution of the parliament needs to stop. In fact, UML lawmaker Metmani Chaudhary, urging not to doubt their support of Deuba, went so far as to say, "Not only will the 23 members who signed the writ petition cast their confidence vote [for Sher Bahadur Deuba], other MPs from the UML will as well." Deuba has inherited leadership in the midst of a pandemic that has claimed the lives of nearly 10,000 Nepalis. And with his political future uncertain, if he manages to hold on to office, the Prime Minister will be faced with securing enough Covid vaccines for Nepal’s eligible population, coordinating disaster response for deadly monsoon floods across the country, and reviving an economy in ruins.

Deuba’s long and winding road

<figure><img width="960" height="642" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131120/636cec8a9c7e80680e09ad6fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Monday's Special Session of Parliament in which K P Oli lost his confidence vote and had to step down. Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>No symptom of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-a-hotbed-of-virus-and-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-a-hotbed-of-virus-and-politics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEkIvVAjDQamPXLgG8emUzaG25acw">Nepal’s current malaise</a> could be more symbolic than a prime minister seeking a confidence vote in a crowded Parliament in the middle of a raging pandemic. Of the 1,300 people tested last week for Monday’s House session, 27 MPs and 140 parliamentary secretariat staff came out positive. Yet it went ahead. Prime Minister K P Oli called the Special Session of the 271-member Lower House that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG8mXuGz88399jPn8uYnb5kIbb8Jw">he himself had dissolved</a> in December, and which was later reinstated by the Supreme Court, to seek the vote. Of the 232 members present, Oli got only 93, and 124 MPs voted against him. Out of 121 of his own UML party's members, 28 from the dissident faction were not present, and 15 MPs voted not to vote. The anti-Oli faction did not join the floor test by floor crossing, but decided to keep away.This means the Oli government has been voted out, and the ball is now in President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s court. The question is, why did Oli go into a confidence vote he knew he would lose? He neither lobbied seriously for support, nor did he seem that bothered that he lost.  <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131120/636cec8d9c7e80680e09ad70jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>K P Oli after losing confidence vote in the parliament.</figcaption></figure>If defeat was a given, his game plan could be to get President Bhandari to let him continue while he goes through the motions of cobbling together a coalition. And if he is unsuccessful, he could use a constitutional provision to declare early elections in six months.That plan could go awry if the NC, Maoist Centre, JSP and dissident UML can enlist enough MPs to form their own coalition. If that happens, Sher Bahadur Deuba could become prime minister for the fifth time. Monday’s session also saw JSP leaders Mahanta Thakur and Upendra Yadav taking diametrically opposing stances: one faction saying it would stay neutral, and the other voting against Oli.The drama in Parliament was the climax (some would say anti-climax) of a long-running power struggle that pitted Oli against his erstwhile comrades Pushpa Kamal Dahal in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and Madhav Kumar Nepal from his own UML.The NCP was formed out of the electoral alliance of the Maoist Centre and the UML that swept the 2017 elections with a near two-thirds majority. But a feud between Dahal and Oli for control over the party and government had paralysed statecraft, and stymied response to the Covid-19 pandemic.When the Supreme Court ordered the NCP to be disbanded into its constituent parties in February, Oli turned to sidelining Nepal from the UML. Moderate party members had been trying to keep the UML unified by mediating between Oli and Nepal till the eleventh hour before Monday’s Special Session.While Nepal was willing to concede as long Oli also inducted some of his own supporters into the Central Committee, Oli was adamant and refused to compromise. This led many to surmise that Oli was sticking to his strategy of going for elections if not allowed to stay on as prime minister. <figure><img width="768" height="513" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131120/636cec8f9c7e80680e09ad71jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Kathmandu’s main infectious diseases hospital in Teku is full, and patients are being cared for in open verandahs and parking lots – a scene repeated in government hospitals across the country.</figcaption></figure>The political deadlock for the past two years has been costly for Nepal. A government that came to power on a slogan of ‘prosperity and stability’ could deliver neither, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vax-populi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vax-populi/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGbUXjIwBAEKK7337i2c864cWkHgw">could not ensure citizens good health</a>, either.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/this-is-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/this-is-war/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHvj-gR5nMjpbsHfz9nm-6Wwnqy3w">It bungled on Covid-19 response</a> by not using the first lockdown last year to test, trace and quarantine adequately, and not learn from that mistake when the even bigger second wave hit in April. It was hit by repeated scandals involving procurement of test kits, medicines and vaccines.As a result, the pandemic swept in from India, spread uncontrollably, and is currently laying waste to the country. Prime Minister Oli still seemed to be in denial, proclaiming in a CNN interview last week that the pandemic is ‘under control’ at a time when it is anything but, and even laying the blame for the scourge squarely on people not following guidelines. In fact it was the government that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dahal-nepal-hold-anti-oli-rally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dahal-nepal-hold-anti-oli-rally/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGFxLryKcIpPVFV_Cuc4KKm6ouGSg">violated its own protocols</a> by organising <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHyT1px_RVIBghnj_akeg7HtEyVzQ">religious gatherings</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q=dharara" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q%3Ddharara&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF9oc22nvJe3U8_1LtLYv2Z401o9Q">lavish inaugurations</a> and indoor political meetings in the past months. <figure><img width="1500" height="931" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131120/636cec909c7e80680e09ad72jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>MPs line up for PCR tests last week ahead of Monday's Special Session of Parliament.</figcaption></figure>Caretaker Prime Minister Oli failed to resolve the political crisis, and failed to respond adequately to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/our-health-system-cant-contain-the-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/our-health-system-cant-contain-the-pandemic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHP4f5VI3wZJFyjJN1dIFO16p6UJA">health crisis.</a> The two crises are linked. Ironically, in Parliament on Monday we saw the two failures side-by-side — playing high-risk political brinkmanship by holding a high-risk mass gathering. What kind of priority shapes a government that has declared a lockdown over 70 of the country’s 77 districts, banned all conferences and meetings, and restricted marriage parties to less than 15 people, and yet calls for a Parliament sitting? Even the PCR test last week was a spreader event despite the physical separation. Meanwhile, Nepal has been reporting more than <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-nears-10k-daily-cases/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;">8,000 new cases a day</a> for a week now, and the number of confirmed infections is doubling every three days.  Kathmandu has been registering more than half of all new daily cases.  Another 9,271 new Covid-19 cases were recorded on Monday, the highest daily tally. There were 139 fatalities, more than double the day before. The number of active infections is closing in on 100,000, and the total confirmed cases exceeded 400,000 on Monday.

Super-spreader Special Session of Nepal’s Parliament

<figure><img width="960" height="642" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84689c7e80680e067792jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Monday's Special Session of Parliament in which K P Oli lost his confidence vote and had to step down. Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>No symptom of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-a-hotbed-of-virus-and-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-a-hotbed-of-virus-and-politics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEkIvVAjDQamPXLgG8emUzaG25acw">Nepal’s current malaise</a> could be more symbolic than a prime minister seeking a confidence vote in a crowded Parliament in the middle of a raging pandemic. Of the 1,300 people tested last week for Monday’s House session, 27 MPs and 140 parliamentary secretariat staff came out positive. Yet it went ahead. Prime Minister K P Oli called the Special Session of the 271-member Lower House that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG8mXuGz88399jPn8uYnb5kIbb8Jw">he himself had dissolved</a> in December, and which was later reinstated by the Supreme Court, to seek the vote. Of the 232 members present, Oli got only 93, and 124 MPs voted against him. Out of 121 of his own UML party's members, 28 from the dissident faction were not present, and 15 MPs voted not to vote. The anti-Oli faction did not join the floor test by floor crossing, but decided to keep away.This means the Oli government has been voted out, and the ball is now in President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s court. The question is, why did Oli go into a confidence vote he knew he would lose? He neither lobbied seriously for support, nor did he seem that bothered that he lost.  <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b846b9c7e80680e067793jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>K P Oli after losing confidence vote in the parliament.</figcaption></figure>If defeat was a given, his game plan could be to get President Bhandari to let him continue while he goes through the motions of cobbling together a coalition. And if he is unsuccessful, he could use a constitutional provision to declare early elections in six months.That plan could go awry if the NC, Maoist Centre, JSP and dissident UML can enlist enough MPs to form their own coalition. If that happens, Sher Bahadur Deuba could become prime minister for the fifth time. Monday’s session also saw JSP leaders Mahanta Thakur and Upendra Yadav taking diametrically opposing stances: one faction saying it would stay neutral, and the other voting against Oli.The drama in Parliament was the climax (some would say anti-climax) of a long-running power struggle that pitted Oli against his erstwhile comrades Pushpa Kamal Dahal in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and Madhav Kumar Nepal from his own UML.The NCP was formed out of the electoral alliance of the Maoist Centre and the UML that swept the 2017 elections with a near two-thirds majority. But a feud between Dahal and Oli for control over the party and government had paralysed statecraft, and stymied response to the Covid-19 pandemic.When the Supreme Court ordered the NCP to be disbanded into its constituent parties in February, Oli turned to sidelining Nepal from the UML. Moderate party members had been trying to keep the UML unified by mediating between Oli and Nepal till the eleventh hour before Monday’s Special Session.While Nepal was willing to concede as long Oli also inducted some of his own supporters into the Central Committee, Oli was adamant and refused to compromise. This led many to surmise that Oli was sticking to his strategy of going for elections if not allowed to stay on as prime minister. <figure><img width="768" height="513" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b846d9c7e80680e067794jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Kathmandu’s main infectious diseases hospital in Teku is full, and patients are being cared for in open verandahs and parking lots – a scene repeated in government hospitals across the country.</figcaption></figure>The political deadlock for the past two years has been costly for Nepal. A government that came to power on a slogan of ‘prosperity and stability’ could deliver neither, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vax-populi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vax-populi/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGbUXjIwBAEKK7337i2c864cWkHgw">could not ensure citizens good health</a>, either.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/this-is-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/this-is-war/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHvj-gR5nMjpbsHfz9nm-6Wwnqy3w">It bungled on Covid-19 response</a> by not using the first lockdown last year to test, trace and quarantine adequately, and not learn from that mistake when the even bigger second wave hit in April. It was hit by repeated scandals involving procurement of test kits, medicines and vaccines.As a result, the pandemic swept in from India, spread uncontrollably, and is currently laying waste to the country. Prime Minister Oli still seemed to be in denial, proclaiming in a CNN interview last week that the pandemic is ‘under control’ at a time when it is anything but, and even laying the blame for the scourge squarely on people not following guidelines. In fact it was the government that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dahal-nepal-hold-anti-oli-rally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dahal-nepal-hold-anti-oli-rally/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGFxLryKcIpPVFV_Cuc4KKm6ouGSg">violated its own protocols</a> by organising <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHyT1px_RVIBghnj_akeg7HtEyVzQ">religious gatherings</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q=dharara" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q%3Ddharara&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF9oc22nvJe3U8_1LtLYv2Z401o9Q">lavish inaugurations</a> and indoor political meetings in the past months. <figure><img width="1500" height="931" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b846f9c7e80680e067795jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>MPs line up for PCR tests last week ahead of Monday's Special Session of Parliament.</figcaption></figure>Caretaker Prime Minister Oli failed to resolve the political crisis, and failed to respond adequately to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/our-health-system-cant-contain-the-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/our-health-system-cant-contain-the-pandemic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620736554760000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHP4f5VI3wZJFyjJN1dIFO16p6UJA">health crisis.</a> The two crises are linked. Ironically, in Parliament on Monday we saw the two failures side-by-side — playing high-risk political brinkmanship by holding a high-risk mass gathering. What kind of priority shapes a government that has declared a lockdown over 70 of the country’s 77 districts, banned all conferences and meetings, and restricted marriage parties to less than 15 people, and yet calls for a Parliament sitting? Even the PCR test last week was a spreader event despite the physical separation. Meanwhile, Nepal has been reporting more than <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-nears-10k-daily-cases/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;">8,000 new cases a day</a> for a week now, and the number of confirmed infections is doubling every three days.  Kathmandu has been registering more than half of all new daily cases.  Another 9,271 new Covid-19 cases were recorded on Monday, the highest daily tally. There were 139 fatalities, more than double the day before. The number of active infections is closing in on 100,000, and the total confirmed cases exceeded 400,000 on Monday.

Sometimes, we need to take a step back to realise what a tectonic movement Nepali politics witnessed this month.
In a region and world ruled by elected authoritarians, Nepalis &nbsp;went to the ballot box freely to express a collective will for change.
These faces in this group photo of the RSP’s 180 freshly-minted MPs at the ballroom of the Royal Tulip Hotel on Wednesday is symbolic of what Nepal has come through.&nbsp;
The ship of state righted itself after the September Storm, installing an interim government that held an election within six months in which voters banished obsolete politicians and their parties into oblivion.
Nepalis, fed up with the inept kakistocracy of the past three decades, took the country into a post-ideological phase — replacing Marxists, Maoists and monarchists &nbsp;with a belief in a new governing culture that rewards delivery and accountability. And they have trusted the RSP to carry it through.
Nepal’s history has never been linear, it jerks ahead in lurches. The polity also tends to take one step forward and two steps back, so the public’s great expectations is tempered by a sense of cautious optimism and guarded pessimism.
This could be the great leap forward that Nepalis have waited for and deserve, but it could also be a Gramscian interregnum in which the old is dead and the new is not yet born. We will have to wait to see whether this transitional period will also see ‘morbid symptoms’.
As disruptor-in-chief, it was the Balendra Shah ‘wave’ or ‘craze’ that propelled the RSP to power. The former Kathmandu mayor needed a party platform, and the RSP’s tainted leader Rabi Lamichhane required a booster. Nepal's voters were looking for a saviour.
Personality-wise Shah and Lamichhane are poles apart: one is Type B and the other Type A. One is enigmatic, the other phlegmatic. But yin and yang do also tend to complement each other.&nbsp;
Kathmandu’s chattering class is already making self-fulfilling prophecies about the two falling out, and are fishing for hints that they already have. Shah’s absence from the RSP’s orientation this week was taken as a clue.&nbsp;
Closing the two-day tutorial on Wednesday, Lamichhane delivered a fiery 30-minute speech that laid out the RSP’s main agenda: to function differently from the old parties, serve the people, avoid middlemen, become true lawmakers without taking the law into their own hands.&nbsp;
“The old political parties contributed to history, we will build the future with a new political contract with citizens,” he said, trying to rise over past controversies and his abrasive rhetoric to sound statesmanlike.&nbsp;
GIVE AND TAKE
Lamichhane is said to be in touch with the reclusive Shah to announce a compact cabinet next week. Its composition will be an indication of how much give-and-take there was, and whether the criteria for selecting ministers is competence or loyalty.
Will RSP ministers behave like rulers or service providers? The new government will dive right into the economic fallout of the West Asia war with soaring fuel &nbsp;prices, inflation and uncertainty about remittance inflows.
On Thursday, Gagan Thapa resigned as NC chair, taking moral responsibility for the party’s election loss. The UML’s unrepentant K P Oli does not share the same sentiment about who is responsible for his own party’s historic downfall.&nbsp;
NCP chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who was luckier than his cross-party cohort, is now a comparative relic in a Parliament largely comprised of freshmen and sophomore lawmakers.
But the NC, UML and NCP still control provincial and most municipal governments. The old parties could try to make things difficult for the RSP at the centre, but it is also an opportunity for them to clean up their act ahead of local elections next year.&nbsp;
Another test for the RSP will be dealing with a heavily-politicised klepto-bureaucracy which has to frontend its policy decisions. &nbsp;

People’s power

This week, the RSP held a two-day closed orientation camp for its newly elected members of Parliament. The party has also decided to assign parliamentary and Cabinet roles to leaders only after the new MPs are sworn in on 28 March.&nbsp;
This means the new prime minister and his cabinet of 15 ministers are likely to be installed closer to the Nepali New Year, and the expectation is that it will also usher in a new era of governance and politics in Nepal.&nbsp;
Between now and then, there is much speculation regarding who will become new ministers and from which camp—Balendra Shah's or Rabi Lamichanne’s. Meanwhile, the final argument in the petition against the Rabi Lamichanne case revision is set for Thursday, with a verdict expected on the same day.
“In the past, parties did anything to form coalitions and to keep them from splitting ministries and appointing anyone they wanted to, even going against the spirit of the Constitution, but the RSP doesn’t need to partake in any such activities,” says political analyst Indra Adhikari.
Adhikari notes that governance failures in the past was often the result of coalition governments formed through political bargaining that meant the primary party often had to compromise on their agenda.&nbsp;
“But nothing is stopping the party from fulfilling its election manifesto,” she says. “And if they aren’t able to deliver, we know Nepalis are prone to protests, so another revolt is also a possibility.”
Journalist and author Mohan Mainali agrees that the everyday Parliamentary proceedings should go smoothly for new government because of their majority.&nbsp;
But there are questions as to what a near two-thirds majority allows the RSP to achieve in Parliament. Its 182 seats in the Lower House allows the party to enact and amend laws without hurdles and bypass Upper House’s request for Bill revisions. But the RSP has no presence in the National Assembly, and that means that its majority in the Lower House is not enough to amend the Constitution.&nbsp;
“The Constitution poses no obstacles for the RSP to work on improving governance, development and delivery,” says Mainali. &nbsp;“If they do show some performance, it will be easier for them to go into the next election and ask for a two-thirds majority to also amend the constitution,” he adds.
The last coalition government of the UML and Nepali Congress before the GenZ protests had been built upon a primary agreement to make amendments to the Constitution. So, depending on the nature of amendments, the RSP might find some support within the National Assembly at a time when some of the older parties, such as the Nepali Congress, have committed to supporting the new government as well as internal party reforms.
“What we need is a structural overhaul, from our laws and foreign policy to economy and security apparatus, and for this the RSP needs to champion collaboration and consultation for the sake of nation building,” says Indra Adhikari. “So it all comes down to the understanding and judgment of the RSP’s leadership. If they try to go at it alone, it will lead nowhere.”
To be sure, the provincial government could also clean up their act before the next local and provincial elections, which would help the older parties to regain some of their lost footing and rebuild trust.
As it stands, RSP lawmakers will also have to learn to work with each other. Mainali notes that the RSP not being bound by one clear ideology might lead to future problems, including the rumoured animosity between party president Rabi Lamichhane and prime minister-in-waiting Balendra Shah.
“Parties that came before the RSP had an ideology, whether they followed them or not, but the RSP is made of different kinds of people,” says Mainali. “If they are not motivated by a common goal of achieving something tangible in the next five years, it might be difficult for them to stay together.”
Adds Adhikari: “Balendra and Rabi don’t seem to be compatible. Rabi has already failed when it comes to the matters of governance, and Balendra won’t carry that burden. Additionally, there is a struggle between the two in terms of party hierarchy.”
Speaking at the closing of the two-day orientation, from which Balendra Shah was noticably absent, Rabi Lamichanne said that the RSP’s image as intolerant needs to be changed, and that the country is not heading towards totalitarianism but is in the hands of good, new people.
Regardless of the assurance, the general public has seen Balendra Shah and Lamichanne’s disposition in the last several years, and analysts are worried that their personalities and ambition might lead to an environment of increased intolerance.&nbsp;
As it stands in absence of a strong opposition, the responsibility falls on the media and the civil society to be the watchdog and play an effective check and balance role.&nbsp;
“Seeing how Balendra has ignored the media so far and Rabi has made inflammatory remarks in the past, they are probably more intolerant than the likes of Trump and Modi,” says Mainali. He notes that the party does not just have technical human resource and cyber army but a large number of dedicated supporters.&nbsp;
The media must thus continue to build trust by highlighting good work, educating the public on the importance of impartial journalism in democracy and debate any Bill purposed in Parliament, Mainali adds.&nbsp;
Says Adhikari: “The media should praise the government when they do well, motivate them, but it should also point out wrongdoings without fear, and provide recommendations to do better. Otherwise, absolute power corrupts absolutely, which we have seen happen happen in America with Trump and in India with Modi, where extremism has taken over and democracy has been curtailed.”

Balancing act

Deadly floods two years ago along the southern fringes of Kathmandu Valley killed 200 people. Climate change was blamed, but the destruction was magnified by quarries and sand mining owned by local politicians and crony contractors. Disaster mitigation and environmental risk was not a priority for any of the political parties that ran and won Nepal’s election last week. Although the RSP has a supermajority, rural municipalities that grant mining contracts are still ruled by the established parties that supply aggregates and sand to feed &nbsp;Kathmandu’s construction boom. Here in Lele Valley, residents are worried about another monsoon season that will start in June and fear more floods bringing unmanaged gravel from quarries down the Nallu River.&nbsp; The house of Sanumaya Nagarkoti, 65, and ten neighbours were washed away by the flood on the night of 28 September 2024. She and her husband petitioned the ward and municipal council to remove the crushers but no one listened. The slopes above are scarred by landslides from two years ago, and the banks of the river are strewn with bounders the size of cars that were brought down. “We live in constant fear of landslides,” says Chakra Nagarkoti, “the heavy crusher machinery and tipper trucks also constantly shake the house.”&nbsp; Google Earth images show that 24.6 hectares of mountain flanks have been excavated since 2010, and despite the disaster no lessons have been learnt.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090348_bdce7f17500eadac0ce0814c32c2b4190d01325976fd4d29db9985148459c0bc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260319090348_bdce7f17500eadac0ce0814c32c2b4190d01325976fd4d29db9985148459c0bc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="907" loading="lazy" alt="Lele"> <figcaption>Photo: GOOGLE EARTH</figcaption> </figure>  The RSP might have got a near two-thirds majority in Parliament but decision-making at the community level is controlled by politicians in cahoots with contractors.&nbsp; Along the Mahadev Khola, the Department of Mines cancelled excavation permits for crushers citing flood and landslide risk. Yet there are still 21 contractors mining stones and sand.&nbsp; Nearby Godavari Municipality also instructed operators who had not renewed permits to close down. No action was taken. One of them is Vinayak Multipurpose which delivers aggregate and stones for United Cement. Local ward chair Milan Silwal, has a stake in Vinayak and locals accuse him of taking the side of industry.&nbsp; Another slope is being gouged out near Mahadev Khola, and comparing satellite imagery from 2010 shows that the scar on the mountain is now five times bigger.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090348_21a8f7f7f9d6cc784c35719da737b20283f934bbe16c9de971d91bf01012499a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260319090348_21a8f7f7f9d6cc784c35719da737b20283f934bbe16c9de971d91bf01012499a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Lele"> <figcaption>United Cement operating near Mahadev Khola. Photo: ARCHANA DARJI</figcaption> </figure>  Nearby stands the lone house of 55-year-old Sabina Tamang, who lives with her husband and daughter. Due to the sound of the stone-breakers, they cannot hear each other speak. “Last year, a landslide destroyed our cowshed and latrine,” she says. “Next it is going to be our home.”&nbsp; DRY SPRINGS Lele gets its water from several perennial springs which have gone dry in recent years. One of them is near where the cement factory quarries limestone. “We hardly get any water, and the little that does flow is murky and red,” says local resident Rajesh Shrestha. A parliamentary committee directive ordered excavation to stop 15 years ago after a similar flood to the one in 2024.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090352_af7da754299116578cc1dd91d5318ec337b69e74b0676599260b7c57c6ec6fd7.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260319090352_af7da754299116578cc1dd91d5318ec337b69e74b0676599260b7c57c6ec6fd7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="494" loading="lazy" alt="Lele"> <figcaption>Lele over the years. Photo: GOOGLE EARTH</figcaption> </figure>  United Cement’s manager Hari Upreti says his company has fulfilled all requirements and has permission to mine 15 hectares of its own property and 4 hectares of government land. “We have the Department of Mines permit which is valid till 2036 and extract 1,600 tons of limestone every day,” says Upreti. “The local community knew about the mining and if there is a problem with springs going dry it is not because of us.” Environmental researcher Uttambabu Shrestha, however, says there is a direct correlation between the quarry operation and floods, landslides and dry springs.&nbsp; “Extraction should not be allowed without an environmental impact assessment, and companies must stick to set limits,” he says. Investigation of permits show that there is collusion between local officials and contractors. Godavari-6 Chair Bishnuman Maharjan has investment in two quarries and crusher companies operating along Nallu Khola. A paper trail links Maharjan also to Sagarmatha Stone Crusher and Mankamana Aggregate Industries. IMPUNITY&nbsp; Godavari Municipality published a notice in June 2024, instructing crusher companies to submit environmental reports within two weeks, covering initial examination and impact assessment. It also told them to pay local development fees and clear outstanding dues. The municipality even wrote to the Department of Mines clarifying that it had issued permits to only five out of 27 contractors. Within a month, the Department wrote to the District Administration Office (DAO) and District Police Office instructing them to stop illegal excavation, and sent a copy to the Lalitpur Division Forest Office. The DAO then wrote to Lalitpur Police naming Machindranath Multipurpose as operating illegally and should be shut down. There was no followup. The municipality then issued fines worth Rs 60 million to it and one other company for non-compliance. The companies stalled, disputing the calculations.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090356_6e96403d3c5be4aef4d030974d6d92029a0eb396deafd19c511978dae30dd3d2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260319090356_6e96403d3c5be4aef4d030974d6d92029a0eb396deafd19c511978dae30dd3d2" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="2250" loading="lazy" alt="Lele"> <figcaption>Another site of extraction near Mahadev Khola in Godavari. </figcaption> </figure>  Machhindranath Multipurpose operator Kedar Timalsina Shashi denies doing anything wrong, and says the landslides were collateral damage because of the steep terrain. When contacted Godavari Municipality Deputy Mayor Muna Adhikari declined to comment. It has been 10 years since Rajesh Shrestha, Nikesh Shrestha, and others raised their voices against the environmental destruction caused by the construction mafia. An agreement was finally reached two years ago between locals and mining and transport businessmen, stipulating that stone mines must close permanently by mid-2025. The agreement also stated that check dams must be built to manage mining debris, and damaged structures must be restored to their original state. Trees were to be planted at sites where stone mines had operated. But the mines in the catchment are still in operation with 500 tipper trucks working on the site every day, transporting stones and aggregate. Local youth have continued holding sit-in street protests and at Lalitpur DAO.&nbsp; After one sit-in, the mines closed for about a month but they started back up a month later.&nbsp; Birendra Maharjan owns one of the crusher units, and says he follows all environmental protocols. He told us: “You need stones to build, and we must dig to extract stones. Some trees have to be cut, people get employment, and besides, floods and landslides happen across Nepal.” &nbsp;&nbsp; Centre for Investigative Journalism – Nepal.

Loot in Lele

The sense of sight is front, centre, and everywhere else as hundreds of eyes follow visitors while they move from one painting to the next at Nikhil Bahadur Shakya’s ongoing exhibition at Siddhartha Art Gallery. Shakya has used blank canvases as well as partially-done thangka and paintings as a base for more than 50 works on display. The exhibit takes visitors beyond the physical world into a surreal spiritual realm. Shakya strips the human body down to muscle, tendon, networks of nerves, and skeleton. But all the while, eyes are a constant presence.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026031708034_dddbfedc57433dc528fbf032642abea4ee67e63875091b06a7804cecdc7716cf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026031708034_dddbfedc57433dc528fbf032642abea4ee67e63875091b06a7804cecdc7716cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="720" loading="lazy" alt="Nikhil Bahadur Shakya"> <figcaption>Artist Nikhil Bahadur Shakya with a visitor.</figcaption> </figure>  The central theme is self-reflection and the journey from one’s outward to inward self, and the works offer a glimpse into the artist’s world of mindfulness.&nbsp; Shakya grew up watching his artisan grandfather design jewellery, which he says cultivated in him an interest for art. During the Covid-19 pandemic, confronted by the fragility of life and the stark reality of death, his art took an introspective turn. The paintings have splashes of neon yellow, pink, red, orange, green, and gold, and Shakya combines them with black and white to create the human body, sunflowers, geometrical shapes, and the cosmos — turning these motifs into elements of devotion and spirituality. In Wheel of Life, Shakya adds to an incomplete thangka, contrasting traditional Buddhist devotional imagery with contemporary mosaic art to create a demon holding on to a wheel with a yin and yang symbol.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026031708034_f2a8e10c73aa83a67e5de06a3f0acff9aa35c1cda278b36fed76ed03e71a7014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026031708034_f2a8e10c73aa83a67e5de06a3f0acff9aa35c1cda278b36fed76ed03e71a7014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nikhil Bahadur Shakya"> <figcaption>Wheel of Life (centre)</figcaption> </figure>  “I wanted to reflect the elements of life and the balance of good and bad in this painting,” explains Shakya. “I took a lot of time to complete this particular piece, but it felt as though my vision flowed out of the brush onto the canvas.” The neon colours used means that visitors can see his artwork under blue light as well, giving viewers a chance to look at a single artwork from two different perspectives. His Sunflower series draws from a field of blossoms, and the eyes stare back at visitors in an almost-hypnotic gaze. In An Ancestral Visit, Shakya goes transcendental to depict the connection of living beings to their forebears.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026031708038_0fbe465b3af872d04f699030ba093d97aad182221730aef535dbf7d059fb57cf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026031708038_0fbe465b3af872d04f699030ba093d97aad182221730aef535dbf7d059fb57cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1431" loading="lazy" alt="sunflower painting"> </figure>  “In my father’s last days, he was unwell and often unable to eat, it left his body very frail,” explains Shakya. “An Ancestral Visit was inspired by a dream in which I saw my father as his former healthy self. That dream made me feel deeply connected to my ancestors.” In another one of his works titled Devotion, a woman prays to a Shivalinga against a background of red-and-white stripes, which was inspired by the tradition of women being at the forefront during religious and spiritual ceremonies.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026031708038_75e30a4fd339257fbc108e3a326f732fd33d25af0428add0d305b8b7824c558c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2026031708038_75e30a4fd339257fbc108e3a326f732fd33d25af0428add0d305b8b7824c558c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="devotion"> <figcaption>Devotion</figcaption> </figure>  In Sunyata, which shows a skeletal figure meditating as they are surrounded by flames, Shakya captures the chaos of the outside world with peace of the inner self. Shakya was compelled to create Sunyata when he saw a monk, his body thin and face gaunt, meditating peacefully. “Many viewers might find the painting frightening, but when they take it home, I think it will give them strength whenever they feel like they need it,” says Shakya. The exhibit also includes a gigantic painting of Masan Bhairav spread across two canvases, capturing the majesty of the original work housed at Banepa’s Chandeswori Temple. Shakya met the artist who painted it, and asked to reproduce it.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026031708034_0216eac587827b02982f5addbd67c6f852fd7f9f47b477267ea7430d5f862a9b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2026031708034_0216eac587827b02982f5addbd67c6f852fd7f9f47b477267ea7430d5f862a9b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1030" loading="lazy" alt="art review"> </figure>  Geometric figures are another recurring motif on Shakya’s creations, which he says were inspired by mathematics textbooks from his school days. He says, “Art channels the strength of our minds and brings about change in our lives. My paintings reflect the fact that we are all made up of some madness, magic, and love.” Journey to a Visionary Artworld by Nikhil Bahadur Shakya Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Till 6 April 11AM-5PM

vote-of-confidence

Nepal's opposition-less Parliament

Deuba.5

Deuba’s long and winding road

Super-spreader Special Session of Nepal’s Parliament

Super-spreader Special Session of Nepal’s Parliament

People’s power

Balancing act

Loot in Lele

In the mind's eye