A section of the Nepali Congress leadership is trying to set up an alternative democratic front after Girija Prasad Koirala secretly suggested the need to create a non-communist alliance. His aides are now aiming to rope in Sher Bahadur Deuba's NC-D. the RPP led by Pashupati Shumshere Rana and former PM Surya Bahadur Thapa's RJP. It might appear strange that the party that has been heading the seven-party coalition against the royal takeover is spearheading the new front but there are many reasons why Koirala wants this. The majority of NC cadres do not want to back the republican agenda and many of them believe that the 12-point pact between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists is quite unnatural. The NC faction led by Shailaja Acharya has expressed its disagreement over the NC decision to remove the provision for constitutional monarchy from its statute. Many of Girija's colleagues believe the left is using the NC as a shield to fight the palace. Some of Koirala's friends in India have even suggested that he get rid of both the seven-party coalition and the 12-point pact. They argue that Nepal's Maoist movement has led to increasing numbers of Maoists in India but if the NC leaves the seven-party coalition, the agenda of solidifying the Maoist movement in India would be scuttled. Pressure from those Indian politicians is another reason why Koirala has embarked on forming a new democratic alliance.