Off The Record (Spotlight Weekly)

Peculiar Politicking

Nepalese political parties have developed a peculiar method of deliberating on major issues. When they fail to find ways of justifying their actions and arguments, party leaders enlist junior colleagues and like-minded individuals. No party, including the main opposition CPN-UML, directly challenged the government's decision to allow the tenure of elected representatives of local bodies to expire. Instead, they directed ideologically affiliated legal brains to press the matter. When a former speaker and a senior advocate agreed to plead the case, the issue suddenly acquired the aura of all-party consensus. Why did the parties choose not to directly challenge the government? Beats us.

Khadka and Gachhedar (right) : Offensive

Fighting Whose War?

Flanked by four lieutenants - two die-hard foes (Pradeep Giri and Bimalendra Nidhi) of two former members of Girija Prasad Koirala's kitchen cabinet (Khum Bahadur Khadka and Bijaya Kumar Gachhedar) - Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is leading a crusade against the Nepali Congress establishment led by his erstwhile political guru. Koirala, too, has four lieutenants representing opposite poles within the camp - Ram Chandra Poudel, Arjun Narsingh KC, Govinda Raj Joshi and Sushil Koirala. It seems the two protagonists are under the tight control of their subordinates. Whenever Koirala and Deuba strike a note of conciliation, their lieutenants come out with offensive words. Whose war are Koirala and Deuba fighting?

Sujata : Waiting for leadership

Silent Spectators

Many are surprised by the relative silence maintained by Sujata Koirala, the leading unseen player in the Nepali Congress conflict. Think a little harder, and you will discover that Sujata is avoiding direct confrontation since it could further polarize Papa's faction. Although she organizes meetings and hires party workers, Sujata knows a more prominent role would give ammunition to her rivals.

BP's Portrait

The Nepali Congress is so divided that the two factions are strenuously avoiding using the same photograph of the late BP Koirala. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's faction is using the image of BP in national attire, complete with his black cap. The Girija Prasad Koirala-led camp has stood by the more casual picture of BP with his bald head. How this will affect Nepali Congress politics or the fortunes of each camp remains unclear. A divided house is full of symbols of rifts and rancor - even when the subject is the man both camps count as their leader.

Foes Or Friends?

Rastriya Prajatantra Party spokesman Kamal Thapa is so angry with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba that his criticism was too hard even for Koirala Congress central committee member Narahari Acharya to digest at a recent public meeting. While Acharya is vocal in his criticism of the way Deuba is dealing with the present situation, Thapa's bitterness seems to go back to the days when he switched loyalty away from Deuba five years ago. Acharya, who like Thapa was a minister in Deuba's first government, did not have to say much about the prime minister at the meeting.