India maintains Nepal's political turmoil as 'an internal issue' amid Assembly dissolution

As Nepal goes through yet another political turmoil, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday, stated that the recent political developments are 'internal matters of Nepal'. Taking note of the developments, MEA has said that Nepal will deal with it under their own domestic framework and democratic processes. India has extended its unwavering support for Nepal on its journey toward progress, peace, stability and development.

MEA: 'Internal matters of Nepal'

Political crisis in Nepal

After Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives and announced that mid-term polls will be held on November 12 and 19, CPN-UML is the largest party with  121 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives. On the other hand, the Nepali Congress, the CPN-Maoist Center of ex-PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal also known as 'Prachanda'and the Janata Samajbadi Party have 63, 49 and 34 seats respectively. The rivalry between the Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal camps in the CPN-UML camps escalated to the extent that the Nepal President dissolved the Parliament on December 10, 2020, and set the ball for fresh elections.

While the country's Supreme Court reinstated the Parliament in February, the Nepal PM escalated the feud by suspending Nepal and other senior leaders close to him for 6 months. Amidst the turmoil within the ruling party, Oli finally decided to seek a vote of confidence on May 10, but failed after securing just 93 votes in the session attended by 232 lawmakers, as  CPN-Maoist Center withdrew its support. Subsequently, the Opposition too was unable to secure a majority letting Oli retain power till fresh elections are held. Currently, the Opposition has challenged the President's decision to dissolve the parlaiment.

Furthermore, Oli has claimed that he had the support of 153 lawmakers including members of the Janata Samajbadi Party, while his rival Nepali Congress president Deuba submitted signatures of 149 parliamentarians comprising 27 members of the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre - both passing the halfway mark. But, in the Supreme Court, the Opposition has produced a petition signed by 146 members of the Lower House including 61 from Nepali Congress, 49 from CPN-Maoist Centre, 23 from the Madhav Nepal faction of CPN-UML and 12 of Janata Samajbadi Party. They also demanded the appointment of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister.

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. 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. This had led to the first dissolution of Parliament, SC annulling unification of the two warring factions of  Nepal Communist Party (NCP) - Oli & Prachanda's leading to a failed vote of confidence.