KATHMANDU: After several months of volatile political scenario and squabbles within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), the internal politics has taken a sprightly turn following the Secretariat’s decision to nominate NCP Vice-Chairman Bamdev Gautam to the National Assembly.
Gautam — amid a love-hate relationship with Prime Minister KP Oli — stomached all odds and assurances, and has finally proved himself fortunate to be one among the 59 members in the Upper House.
Thursday’s “historic” decision was along the lines of the Secretariat meeting held on February 26, which had recommended Gautam as a member of the National Assembly.
Yes, he will be sworn in as a National Assembly member soon giving a jolt to the voters of Bardiya-1 who did not consider him worthy to represent them to the Federal Parliament in the 2017 general elections.
Consider this: Bamdev, who was in the camp of Dahal and NCP senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, issued a statement on August 5 clarifying that he was not with any camp within the party.
This has raised doubts as to whether the Pyuthan-born Bamdev was eyeing the post of a Deputy Prime Minister now.
If party sources are to be believed, Prime Minister Oli was “not in a mood” to nominate Gautam to NA as he wanted to give continuity to Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada due to his portfolio-related background and experiences.
However, PM Oli “failed to endure the pressure” from other party leaders. Prime Minister Oli in jocular, yet witty remarks had told NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal that he was “entrapped” once again.
Gautam had expressed his intention to become the NA lawmaker public recently after sensing Prime Minister Oli was preparing to give continuity to Khatiwada.
Prime Minister Oli and NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had on Wednesday held talks on the agendas of the Secretariat meeting.
Forget it. Thursday’s decision was undoubtedly highly dramatic at a time when the majority of the country’s population is under lockdown in response to the coronavirus crisis with as many as 300 deaths as of today.
It was the same Bamdev, who on July 28, mooted a six-point proposal that suggested that PM Oli continued as Prime Minister and party Chairman until the next General Convention.
All these developments, particularly the decision to bring Bamdev to the National Assembly, took place against the backdrop of a looming economic recession fueled by the impact of the pandemic.
The events of the past several months have led to changes in NCP political landscape, including the dramatic “love-hate” episodes between NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister Oli.
PM Oli, who faced the prospect of declining fortunes, was able to retain both his crucial positions as the NCP Chairman and the Prime Minister.
Coming back to Bamdev’s shrewdness, he did everything from shifting allegiance to PM Oli from the Dahal camp for the sake of being nominated to the NA.
It was the same Bamdev, who on July 28, mooted a six-point proposal that suggested that PM Oli continued as Prime Minister and party Chairman until the next General Convention.
Consider this: Bamdev, who was in the camp of Dahal and NCP senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, issued a statement on August 5 clarifying that he was not with any camp within the party.
Bamdev even attempted to make an NCP lawmaker vacate a parliamentary constituency for him so that he could contest the election.
Now with the developments so far, a layman’s question could be how is NCP going to benefit with Gautam’s nomination?
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