Amidst the ongoing relief and rehabilitation work, political parties are busy in closed-door meetings to form a new national government. The UML is now holding talks with the NC, the UCPN (Maoist) and the Madhesi parties in a bid to form a new government led by Chairman KP Oli.
The UML’s plan is straightforward: help the NC-led government to write a new constitution by mid July through a fast-track process and then form a new government under Oli’s leadership with representations from the UCPN (Maoist) and the Madhesi parties.
The UML has also prepared a Plan B: unseat Koirala by withdrawing support to his government and form a new coalition with the UCPN (Maoist) and the Madhesi parties.
The UML is confident that it can form a new government by combining its strength with those of the UCPN Maoist and the Madhesi parties.
UCPN (M) leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi says a new national government will be formed in less than two months.
“The process of forming the national government must be concluded,” he says. “For this, we are ready to pass the constitution by forming a commission to work later on the names and boundaries of federal provinces.”
Sources say Koirala is positive about stepping down, provided he gets the credit for writing the new constitution. But Sher Bahadur Deuba, the most prominent NC leader after Koirala, has his own plan to sabotage the UML’s efforts.
It is believed that he is negotiating with another influential NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel to prevent Oli from becoming the new prime minister. Deuba is ready to help Poudel become the NC’s parliamentary party leader but wants his support to be the party president.
The Maoists are neither too excited nor indifferent to form a new government because they know their party will not get a chance to lead it. Even if a national government is formed under Oli’s leadership, they will get nothing more than a few ministerial berths. Sources say the UCPN (Maoist) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal has another plan up his sleeve: help Koirala stay put in office without a new constitution for three more years and make him more unpopular.