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Presidential Puzzle

In Nepal, the seven-party alliance of the left-wing forces is currently governing the country. However, it will face a fierce competition from the Nepali Congress during the presidential election.

By Dr. Qasim Sodhar | March 2023

The fourth presidential election of Nepal is scheduled on March 9, 2023, because the sitting President Bidya Devi Bhandari is going to compete her presidential term on March 13. Being the first female president in the political history of Nepal, she had earlier served as a vice-chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist. However, before discussing the forthcoming election scenario, let us have a brief look at the political structure of Nepal.

Although Nepal is a republic with a multi-party system and currently, there are seven major political parties in the country. Yet, two major political parties, namely the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), are not only rivals to each other, but they are succeeding parties in elections to each other as well. Before that, Nepal had remained under the control of monarchy system and was ruled by different dynasties. However, the Parliament, after a ten-year civil war, finally abolished the monarchy system, and the country was declared a ‘Federal Republic’ on May 28, 2008.

Another major achievement was the adoption of a new Constitution in 2015 and the holding of the first general elections in 2017. Though the Nepali Congress party was the largest winning party, which secured 89/275 seats, still, the Congress could not form the government. On the other hand, due to the formation of an alliance between different communist parties under the banner of the Communist Party of Nepal, which was a merger of the Unified Marxist-Leninist and Maoist Centre, they managed to form the government.

The forthcoming presidential election is going to be very interesting. There are a total of 884 votes comprising the House of Representatives, National Assembly, and all seven Provincial Assemblies. The Election Commission has also decided to hold elections for vice-president on 17th March, a day before the sitting vice-president, Nanda Kishor Pun retires.

It is evident by observing politics and the election process in South Asia that in most cases, political horse-trading and other tactics are used to secure the votes. Even in a country like India, which is considered the world’s largest democracy, such practices are reported there as well. The case of Pakistan is even worse in this regard, where it is not the people but the military establishment that decides which political party should have the reins of power. In this case, the seven-party alliance of the left-wing forces is governing Nepal, yet they have to face strong opposition from the Nepali Congress. Since the president will be elected by the Federal Parliament and the Provincial Assemblies, where the ruling alliance is in majority. Still, there is a possibility that from both sides the ruling alliance and the opposition will go an extra mile to get the support of the parliament and provincial assembly members by employing different tactics. At the same time, it is worth noting that since Nepal adopted a new constitution just 7-8 years ago and they have less experience for conducting elections, they may face issues in holding a free and fair election.


It is interesting to note that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the left movements almost became nonexistent. Despite that, the communist forces have remained intact and powerful in a country like Nepal. Even in India, the left-wing has lost its strength in parliamentary politics because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-secular ideology and his success in securing the premiership two times. On the other hand, since it was the capitalist block, under the patronage of the U.S., which propagated that the communist forces were anti-religion and believed in atheism. This kind of propaganda has had an impact on societies like Pakistan because Pakistan is a country associated with a particular religion, Islam. However, this was perceived that in secular societies like India at that time, the anti-religion propaganda would not survive.

Yet, the left forces are on the back foot during the Modi regime. In this regard, this is a positive development that the left-wing and progressive forces are in power in Nepal. However, still the right-wing parties are not ready to leave a room empty as a right-leaning National Independent Party (NIP), in recent elections, won 20 seats and became the fourth largest party after the Nepali Congress (NC), the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), and the Communist Party (Maoist), respectively. Likewise, the National Democratic Party (NDP), a monarchist and Hindu nationalist party, won 14 seats and became the fifth-largest party. Therefore, it is clear that there are at least two right-leaning parties among the top five in a hung parliament, and they, along with the major and single largest party, Nepali Congress, can give a tough time to the ruling alliance during the presidential and vice-presidential elections.

For instance, after merging with Maoist Centre, the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) secured an almost two-thirds majority in the 2017-2022 parliament, despite the majority government collapsed before the due time in July 2021. And, a new trend was observed during the recent general elections held on November 20, 2022, as those parties, like the Nepali Congress, which is a version of the Indian National Congress, focused more on right-wing policies during the 2022 election campaign. The policy shift in NC was just because of the sudden popularity of the right-wing and ultra-nationalist parties, and NC tried to counter it by getting the vote.

However, the presidential and vice-presidential elections are going to be very interesting, in which loyalties can change on ideological basis as well as on the basis of self-serving interests. Thus, this is not a tug of war between the left and right-wing elements, but the centrist, ethno-nationalists, and other political factors are also there. Hence, let us see who wins and become the new president of Nepal.

A Nation of Chickens

Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party who rose to become dictator of Germany, once brought a chicken with him to the Reichstag, the German federal parliament. All of a sudden, he started scratching off the chicken’s feathers in front of everyone. The chicken continued to scream in pain, but Hitler scratched off all the feathers - one by one. He then threw the chicken on the ground, took out some grains from his pocket, threw it towards the chicken and started walking slowly.

Following his every step, the chicken finally came at Hitler’s feet. He then looked at the Speaker and uttered the historic phrase: “The people in democratic countries behave like this chicken. Their leaders first rob the people of everything to the extent of making them wholly deprived and crippled, and then give them a little to eat. By giving the people food just enough for their survival, the leaders become their saviours.”

In recent times, our condition is also somewhat similar. Isn’t it?

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