Shaking foundations of the coalition government
There are many burning issues in the country. The country’s economy is passing through a serious recession, and many bills are waiting for final approval from Parliament. Parliament is the proper venue to discuss the country's burning issues and find an outlet. When the main opposition party, the Nepali Congress, didn’t allow it to run, the government decided to end the House session. In other words, to save Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, the government decided to end the House session. As the coalition partners, specially, small parties, are bargaining for power in the government, it has become difficult to predict the future of the present government, which stands on a very weak foundation and is shrinking time and again.
Of late, the Ekikrit Samajwadi Party (ESP) led by Madhav Nepal, attempted to perform non-cooperation to the government. ESP leaders even said that the party may quit the government at any time. In the meantime, ESP decided to support the opposition alliance’s candidate for the post of chief minister in the Soodur Paschim Province. The Nepali Congress had decided to back the Nagarik Unmukti Party candidate in the province. Following the development of an adverse situation, Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal held a one-hourlong meeting with ESP’s senior leader Jhalanath Khanal and decided to give the chief minister’s post to the ESP. After the decision, the ESP crisis has been over but the crisis that the government is facing from the Nepali Congress on the issue of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane continues. NC is demanding the constitution of a parliamentary probe commission to investigate Lamichhane’s involvement in the cooperative fraud. On the other hand, Lamichhane is publicly saying that his party may quit the government if a probe commission is formed to investigate him.
NC’s strategy:
After PM Pushpakamal Dahal changed the alliance partner in the government, NC has reached the opposition bench and it has become the fish without water. At any cost, toppling the government has become the NC’s one-point agenda. Some leaders, including Sekhar Koirala, are arguing about the formation of an NC-UML coalition government to give political stability.
Such an alliance may give political stability but it will be odd to develop an alliance between the largest and second largest parties.
Indian factor:
India is involved in micromanagement in Nepal. However, when the present alliance government was formed, India was unaware. Although Delhi is maintaining a “wait and see” strategy about the present “communist” dominated government, it is preparing a long list of agendas to be fulfilled by the present weak government. Bargaining of small parties and warning from the largest opposition party, NC, could be the Indian strategy to bring the leaders in the coalition government into the size. A mess in provincial governments:
Along with a change in the federal government, all the seven province governments have jolted. Some chief ministers have been able to bag a vote of confidence, some are still waiting to take a confidence motion and some are facing problems in the formation of the government.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the system failure syndrome has been witnessed. Even those leaders belonging to different political parties, including Sekhar Koirala (NC), and Gokul Banskota (UML), among others, have been saying to change the electoral system ensuring chances for the formation of a majority government.
The election process only cannot improve the political situation, there is needed an overhaul of the present system. As we were saying from the beginning, “No light at the end of the tunnel”, now, it has been proved and now, the need of the hour to save the nation, is to return to the point from where the journey was started, i.e. the 1990 constitution, which, the political leaders were saying the best constitution in the world.