KATHMANDU: KP Sharma Oli, chair of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), has dismissed the near two-thirds majority secured by Rastriya Swatantra Party in the March 5 election, comparing it to a magician pulling a dove out of a hat.
Addressing MPs elected from the UML to both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly in Chyasal on Thursday, the former prime minister urged party leaders not to be discouraged by the latest electoral outcome.
Oli argued that his government had not been removed through constitutional, legal, or parliamentary procedures but rather through what he described as political maneuvering.
“Our government was removed through a staged election that produced a near two-thirds result, like a magician waving his hand and pulling out a dove,” he said.
Calling political ups and downs natural, Oli told party members not to lose confidence. He recalled that the Nepali Congress had come close to a two-thirds majority in the 1959 election, while UML itself enjoyed a similar position around 2017–18. According to him, RSP now finds itself in a comparable situation.
Looking back at history, Oli noted that Nepali Congress had been in a strong position in 1959 before the political shift that followed the royal takeover in 1960.
He also pointed out that RSP previously held 20 seats and increased to 21 after the 2023 by-elections, arguing that UML’s current presence in the House of Representatives remains larger than that.
“We have declined to this position, but there is a principle that once something reaches its peak, decline begins,” Oli said. “We were not removed because we acted against the interests of the country or because of corruption. Rather, we were forced out of government due to politics of hatred and coordinated attacks. There is no reason to lose hope, we can return to the people again.”
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