Nepal’s ruling NC to form democratic alliance

A day after left political forces in Nepal announced an electoral alliance, the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has also decided to form a similar grouping for the upcoming provincial and parliamentary elections, a media report said.A meeting of the Nepali Congress’ central working committee concluded that there is no alternative to forming a democratic electoral alliance to counter the Maoist party’s alliance with the largest communist bloc, Kathmandu Post reported.Nepal is set to hold provincial election on November 26 and parliamentary elections on December 5.On Tuesday, left political forces CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Centre) and Babu Ram Bhattarai’s Naya Shakti announced an electoral alliance.“Now broader democratic alliance is a need of the hour to strengthen the democratic forces in the country,” said Nepali Congress central working committee member Arjun Narasingh KC.Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, also the president of Nepali Congress, said that the NC would hold meeting with Rastriya Janata Party (RJP), Sanghiya Samajwadi Forum Nepal (SSFN), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and RPP (Prajatantrik) to discuss the formation of an alliance.NC leader Bimalendra Nidhi said that the party would put forth the proposal for electoral alliance with all other political parties vying in the elections except UML, Maoist Centre and Naya Shakti.Most NC leaders present at the meeting opined that the unity of leftist forces is a threat to democracy and underscored the need to form a broader democratic alliance.“The recent alliance of UML and Maoist Centre is a communist merger rather than the alliance of leftists and this is not good for the democracy,” Nidhi said.However, RJP general secretary Manish Suman said that although the prime minister had summoned top leaders of the party, no discussion was held on the formation of an alliance.The country recently concluded local-level elections in two decades.Nepal has been witnessing political instability for a long time.Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community.The civil war ended in Nepal in 2006 and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal became the country’s first post-war prime minister.The 240-year-old monarchy was abolished two years later. General elections next month is being seen as the final step in the country’s post-war transition to a federal democracy.