Off The Record (Spotlight Weekly)

Oli : Image-conscious

Oli's Ardor

CPN-UML politburo member K.P. Sharma Oli is trying these days to portray an image as a powerful leader within the party. After his campaign to "democratize" the UML ended in a fiasco at the recently concluded party convention in Janapurdham, Oli and his foe turned ally Bam Dev Gautam are addressing party meeting in different parts of the country. At a recent mass meeting in Jhapa, Oli castigated general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and his team for bullying his side into submission. Although Oli does not have mass following in the party, he can mount a challenge to Nepal's leadership for a short time. Nobody knows how Nepal takes Oli's criticism, but it is certain that Oli wants to show that he has leadership qualities.

Chnad : Prayers galore

Rifts On The Right

While leftist groups are uniting to challenge mainstream parties, those on the right are breaking up. After the rupture of the Nepali Congress and resurgence of differences in Rastriya Prajatantara Party, it was Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP)'s turn to split. Formed by late Gajendra Narayan Singh, the NSP has a long history of cleavages. It was split in the early days when one of its founder members, Ramchandra Tiwari, opened his NSP(R). Last time, a group led by Hridayesh Tripathy broke away to form Nepal Samajbadi Party with Rameswor Raya as president. This time Badri Prasad Mandal, a newcomer in the party, kicked out his opponents, while Singh's widow formed another party NSP(R). It seems to be a tradition in Nepalese politics for minority factions to form separate parties as soon as soon as they feel deprived of a proper share. This is democracy where every individual has right to express his or her dissent in different ways.

PM And Puja

Although Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand is leading the government at a time when the country is passing through a very crucial phase, one cannot see much solemnity in his working style - in his official capacity, that is. Despite his busy schedule and hectic meetings, Chand spends most of his mornings in puja. Being a devout Hindu, Chand seems more interested in pleasing the gods rather than people. Since he is not answerable to the people, Chand probably knows he does not have to worry too much about them.

Whether he spends seven hours in puja or two, he is the prime minister, after all. Let's pray he gets divine inspiration to bring the country out of its morass.

Thapa : Premonition of threat

House Haggle

In a recent statement, Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala asserted that the King would have to reinstate the House of Representatives to fortify the monarchy's position in the country. A year ago, when his party colleague and prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba dissolved the House and called general elections, Koirala urged the dismissal of Deuba. When the court upheld Deuba's decision, Koirala requested the King to form an all-party government to replace Deuba's. In all his statements, Koirala reiterates a similar sentence: that the King needs to follow his advice to protect the crown. Although he makes a valid point in asserting that the reinstatement of the House is the best option to avoid a deepening political crisis, he is weakening it with his fiery rhetoric.

Thapa's Threat

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader Surya Bahadur Thapa has his own way of criticizing his opponents. After maintaining a long silence, Thapa roared at the meeting of Nepal Sadbhavana Party, highlighting the great threat the country was facing. Although Thapa did not elaborate on the kind of threat he perceived, he was confident that there was a looming crisis nonetheless. Whether the threat perceived by Thapa is like that of Koirala's remains unclear. In the past, though, Thapa always issued such threats when he himself indulged in some kind of trouble.