Nepal PM loses majority after coalition partner quits

KATHMANDU: Embattled Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal lost his government´s majority on Wednesday after his key coalition partner withdrew support, triggering fresh political uncertainty in Kathmandu´s volatile parliament.

Dahal is expected to face a vote of confidence in parliament within 30 days.

Dahal, a 69-year-old ex-Maoist guerrilla better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda, or “the fierce one”, has held the prime minister´s position since December 2022 through fragile alliances.

Four months ago, Dahal sacked his old allies and rebuilt his partnership with the Communist Party of Nepali - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), but it did not hold.

“All the ministers have resigned, we have withdrawn our support and have informed the prime minister,” Mahesh Bartaula, chief whip of CPN-UML, told AFP.

Differences within the top leadership paved the way for CPN-UML´s chairman KP Sharma Oli to strike a midnight deal with Sher Bahadur Deuba of the opposition Nepali Congress (NC) on Tuesday.

NC chief secretary Krishna Prasad Poudel announced details in a statement on Wednesday, after a meeting of party leaders.

“This meeting expresses the conviction to implement the agreement for CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli to first lead a new national consensus government, and then for Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to lead it,” the statement read.

The Maoists have played a key role in Nepal´s politics for more than 20 years, after waging a decade-long insurgency against government forces that claimed more than 16,000 lives.

The civil war ended in a 2006 peace deal, which saw rebel leader Dahal become Nepal´s first post-war prime minister. The three main parties -- the Maoists, CPN-UML, and the NC -- have since monopolised politics, forming varying brittle coalitions with one another.

Nepal, a Himalayan nation of 30 million people, is sandwiched between powerful neighbours India and China -- with both New Delhi and Beijing campaigning for influence. Nepal´s next general elections are to be held in 2027.