Nepal PM ‘Prachanda’ forges new alliance with ex-premier Oli’s party after splitting with Nepali Congress

Nepal's PM Prachanda forms new alliance with K.P. Sharma Oli's party after ending partnership with Nepali Congress.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on March 4 decided to form a new alliance with former premier K.P. Sharma Oli’s party after terminating its nearly 15-month partnership with the Nepali Congress due to differences between the top leadership.

The alliance between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) led by Mr. Prachanda and the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led Nepali Congress has been terminated as the growing differences between the two top leaders reached a climax, a CPN-Maoist Centre party leader said.

“As (the) Nepali Congress did not cooperate with the Prime Minister, we are forced to look for (a) new alliance,” Ganesh Shah, Secretary of the CPN-Maoist, told PTI.

Mr. Prachanda became the Prime Minister for the third term with the support of the Nepali Congress on December 25, 2022.

After breaking the alliance with the Nepali Congress — the largest party in the House of Representatives — Mr. Prachanda joined hands with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), led by Oli, who was regarded as Mr. Prachanda’s top critic.

Last year, the CPN-UML withdrew its support to the Mr. Prachanda-led government following a rift over backing the main opposition party’s candidate for the Presidential poll.

The new cabinet will be formed on Monday afternoon, and the size of the cabinet will be smaller, said Surendra Pandey, Vice-chairman of the CPN-UML.