Nepal SC annuls Oli-Prachanda factions' 2018 merger; awards NCP to Rishiram Kattel

In a surprising twist to the Nepal political crisis, the country's top court on Sunday, annulled the unification of the two warring factions of  Nepal Communist Party (NCP) - Oli & Prachanda's - which came together in 2018. The unification which was challenged by the original NCP chief Rishiram Kattel, has now been awarded back to him by the Supreme Court. The SC has stated that the merged NCP will return back to CPN-UML led by KP Oli and CPN (Maoist Centre) led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. Currently, the party is already split into two factions.

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As per international reports, NCP's Prachanda has refused to comment on the verdict, but the Oli faction has welcomed the verdict saying, "We respect the verdict, we believe in the independence of the judiciary." In 2018, the Election Commission had allowed the merger of the two factions after 2017 polls - where Oli's CPN-UML was the largest party. Oli merged with Prachanda-led CPN (Maoist Centre) and formed the Nepal Communist Party in 2018 forming two-thirds of the parliament. Amid the verdict, the SC-reinstated House of Representatives has been adjourned till 10 March, after PM Oli exited the first meeting. 

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In December 2020, Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari ratified Oli's recommendation to dissolve the 275-member lower house of Parliament and announced dates for the elections to be held on April 30 and May 10 in 2021.  Oli has defended his move saying, "People's mandate is vital to experience political stability in the nation". The Prachanda-led faction challenged Oli's decision seeking reinstatement of the dissolved House of Representatives. The SC sent the matter to a 5-member Constitutional bench, as there were no clear terms of parliament dissolution in Nepal's constitution. Later, in February, bench annulled the Oli government's "unconstitutional" decision and ordered the government to summon the House session within 13 days.

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Oli & Prachanda

In 2017, with no party able to win a clear majority in the Nepal General Assembly, Oli joined hands with Dahal to form the National Communist party in 2018, ushering in his term as Prime Minister. The two leaders came to an understanding that the two would share the post, but Oli refused to cede the top post after his term, leading to turmoil in the party. Recently, Oli's manoeuvre to pass a new map including Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura in Nepal's map failed to cement his power in his party. With the rise of clamour for Oli's resignation, the ex-PM claimed India was 'hatching a conspiracy to destabilise his government'. Prachanda asserted that it is not India but he himself who is seeking Oli's resignation, rubbishing Oli's claims. Post-dissolution of Parliament, Prachanda's faction ousted Oli from NCP with 313 out of 446 NCP members present.