Kathmandu: The efforts seem to be to seek at least temporary relief in the insurgency regardless of the much talked about talks that have yet to be take place with the Maoists. Relief is sought for the festival season. Whether the Maoists will grant it or not, pressure on government builds to at least promise unilateral ceasefire on part of government in order to provoke a response from the Maoists for Dashain.

Whatever this development if it comes about is hardly likely to impinge on the much talked about talks. It is evident that the Maoists will not let go their armed presence in the bulk of the country and the government is not going to go back to the barracks unless something is done about the armed presence by the Maoists.

Prime Minister Deuba has now promised that elections will take place if it must regardless of the insurgency and so the Maoists will look into the possibilities of how their armed presence will be made to affect such elections to their advantage.

The contending parties will be the Deuba Congress, its partners in the government, namely, the UML, the RPP, the Sadbhavana (Mandal), the NMKP (Rohit). Of course, the Girija congress, the UPF and the Sadbhavana splinter may also will not be able to ignore the elections out rightly. If the UML remains in government uptil the election time, the Maoists will probably be eying to woo the Girija congress with the advantage of Koirala’s belligerence. This possibility makes evident that the opposition demand for talks will be more virulent and politics on the streets will center around this.

If the UML wants the advantage of the streets, the likelihood that it will make issue of the talks to distance itself from government becomes thus imminent regardless of its current standpoints.

This being what it is, it is not for nothing that public anticipation must turn towards developments that will follow after the King’s visit to New Delhi. This will have taken place after the festival season and politics will then be geared towards a newer direction.