Nepal opposition moves SC against Parliament dissolution, want Sher Bahadur Deuba as PM

The political situation in Nepal took a new turn on Monday after the opposition alliance moved the Supreme Court challenging the President's decision to dissolve the Lower House. On Saturday morning, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari had dissolved the House of Representatives and announced that mid-term polls will be held on November 12 and 19. This decision was taken after she rejected the claims of both Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli and opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba for government formation.

While Oli claimed that he had the support of 153 lawmakers including members of the Janata Samajbadi Party, Nepali Congress president Deuba submitted signatures of 149 parliamentarians comprising 27 members of the CPN-UML rival faction led by Madhav Kumar Nepal. The petition in the apex court was 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. 

Political crisis in Nepal

With 121 seats, CPN-UML is the largest party 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. However, he was dealt another blow as the CPN-Maoist Center withdrew its support, reducing the government to a minority. Thereafter, he lost the confidence motion after securing just 93 votes in the session attended by 232 lawmakers. 

Although Oli was back at the helm of affairs owing to the opposition's inability to garner numbers for government formation, he received a setback on May 20 as his candidate for a seat in Nepal's Upper House- Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa lost to a candidate fielded by the CPN-UML rival faction. Moreover, the nation's SC issued an interim order restraining 7 members of the Cabinet from discharging their ministerial responsibilities. Defecting to the PM's party from the CPN-Maoist Center, they had been disqualified from Parliament. This compelled him to not seek a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives.