Now that the rains are over, the four parties protesting King Gyanendra's October Fourth are back on the streets.

Girija Prasad Koirala can't stand this government because it is lead by the man he blames for splitting his party. Also, Sher Bahadur Deuba was made prime minister by King Gyanendra invoking the 'regressive' Article 127, and Deuba's coalition includes the UML, which ditched him.

So, Koirala wants to use any pretext to bring Deuba down: accusations of selling out to India, the double-whammy oil price hikes, failure to curb the 1 September arson, even the airport incident when a soldier stopped him from driving to his plane.

But time is not on the rump four-party alliance\'s side, Dasain is around the corner and the festive mood will set in by next week. Koirala knows his demand for the restoration of the house isn't grabbing people. Most still see the agitation as being motivated by power.

Koirala loyalist Narahari Acharya denies this, and says the NC wants the street agitation to push the government to begin peace moves. "We want to give the government no choice but to negotiate with the Maoists," he adds.

But the belief among partners that Koirala is offering himself as prime minister under Article 127 has frayed the opposition alliance. The other reason to resume the street agitation could be Koirala's need to flex muscles after his run-in with the CIAA and the Supreme Court over a probe on his alleged ill-gotten wealth.

Nepal's donors blame Koirala of political opportunism at a time of national crisis, and hope that if power is handed to a second tier of leaders, a reunited NC could be a bulwark against the Maoists.

Rumours of a rift between Singha Darbar and Naryanhiti over the India visit are rife, and some coalition ministers admit things are looking shaky ahead of King Gyanendra's own India visit which was scheduled before Dasain but has now been indefinitely postponed.

All this is a sideshow to the real issue of resolving the Maoist question. The political forces are all bent on depriving each other of the reward for restoring peace, and the military has leaned on peaceniks in the Deuba coalition to tone down talk of truce. The cabinet on Thursday afternoon approved a formal offer of talks to be sent to the Maoists, which the rebel spokeman Krishna Bahadur Mahara promptly rejected in a radio interview.

The rebels have declared a two-day banda Tuesday and Wednesday, althoiugh they have assured Kathmandu citizens they can go ahead with Indra Jatra celebrations on Monday. the banda has prompted speculation the rebels may be preparing a dramatic offensive to force a breakthrough.

(With reporting by Navin Singh Khadka)