Prachanda: The 68-year-old unexpectedly left the ruling coalition headed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, forming the new coalition.
After last month’s election resulted in a hung parliament, a former Maoist guerilla who oversaw a ten-year uprising against Nepal’s Hindu monarchy will become prime minister in an alliance with the main opposition, party officials said on Sunday.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal will lead the new administration for the first two years of the five-year term with the backing of the opposition Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party and a few other smaller organizations. Pushpa Kamal Dahal still goes by the moniker Prachanda, which means “terrible” or “fierce.”
According to local media, Prachanda would leave the government in 2025 to make room for the UML to assume leadership.
“This is the understanding. The remaining work of distribution of key other posts and ministries is still to be worked out,” After a meeting of the new partnership, Dev Gurung, the general secretary of Prachanda’s Maoist Centre party, spoke to Reuters.
Prachanda, according to Gurung, would shortly approach President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to make his case for the position of prime minister.
More than a month after the elections, UML general secretary Shankar Pokhrel claimed that the new agreement “had opened up the door” to create a new administration.
After Prachanda, 68, unexpectedly quit the government coalition headed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress party, a new coalition was formed. Deuba declined to support Prachanda for the position of prime minister.
The Maoist Centre party of Prachanda won 32 seats in the House of Representatives, which has 275 members. The remaining seats needed for the 138 majorities will be controlled by smaller organizations. The UML now holds 78 seats.
Since the 239-year-old monarchy was overthrown in 2008, there have been ten government transitions in Nepal.
