Kathmandu: Excessive lust for power has once again brought about a rift in the considerations of the political parties lined up in the agitation against what they call “regression”.
The friendship and the unity in and amongst the FPA conglomerate remained intact until Prime Minister Thapa resigned from his post.
However, the next moment of Thapa’s exit from Singh Durbar apparently made the members of the FPA restive forcing them all to act on an individual basis in order to secure the post. The marathon for securing the Prime Ministerial post was so intense that the honorable members of the FPA preferred to forget their own commitments made earlier when the post of the prime minister was a bit distant from their approach. However, when the lucrative post became vacant, the members of the FPA considered going their own ways caring little for the commitments agreed upon in the early days of the agitation.
To boot, Madhav Nepal of the UML continued to be a consensus candidate as agreed upon by the FPA including Koirala, the commander of the movement against regression.
Now Koirala is a changed personality and as usual has exhibited his lust for the post Thapa left a fortnight ago. It is Koirala and his aides who have now been ventilating that Madhav’a choice was made then and now the consensus has shifted to the other competent candidate, read Koirala.
An annoyed Madhav and his followers have been reminding the Koirala camp that their candidate continues to be a man of consensus for nothing of that sort have so far been decided upon in changing the head for the post of the prime minister.
Madhav Nepal has already sensed a foul play being played against him and his party by the Koirala coterie. But as the discipline would demand from Madhav, he has to obey to the decision of his own commander whom he obeyed all along these fourteen months or so.
But Madhav is all set to break the discipline, sources say. A puzzled UML and its leaders have been assessing on how to counter to Koirala’s changed stance vis-à-vis the UML candidate for the premiership?
The strategy is ready.
The plan is to embarrass Koirala by aligning the party with Deuba congress in case it comes to power. If the King denied role to Deuba-Congress, the UML might also think on supporting Krishna Prasad Bhattarai if the thespian leader fits into the King’s scheme. The UML though is taken aback by Bhattarai’s desire to bounce back to power but yet if he is the PM, the party would presumably side with Bhattarai than to stick with a stubborn and power-lust Koirala.
The inner reality is that Bhattarai’s elevation to the post of the PM would tentatively mean Deuba’s come back to power. And since the UML is committed to support any such arrangement wherein Deuba or his party has its visible presence, the party would not hesitate to extend its indirect support and might seek some berths in the election-government.
A beaming Bhattarai since he met the King last week is secretly nurturing a desire of becoming the next PM if the King told him to do so.
That Bhattarai’s chances are fairly brighter than those who are on the race becomes clear from King’s wish wherein he says that he wants to have a clean Prime Minister. And Bhattrai is clean indeed.
Nevertheless, it is not yet clear as to where the King is hinting at: towards a clean Bhattarai or some one else who is clean but not in the political paraphernalia? Could be a retired judge? Who knows what is in the King’s mind.
By far what has become clear is that the FPA is yet to find a common candidate who could be pushed for the King’s perusal. Presumably it is this delay of the FPA in finding out a suitable consensus candidate, the King has stretched his days of consultations.
Monday at Gokarna camp the King met with a number of civil society members and listened to their personal proposals.
Those who met the King say that the monarch is excessively concerned with the state of affairs of the nation.
However, what is the guarantee that the King will go by the proposals of the civil society members?
Analysts maintain that the King definitely is concerned and wishes an early recovery to peace in the nation. But will he go by what others have advised him to do so or will he go on his own?
Be that as it may, Madhav Nepal’s case is a lost one. But then yet some one from his own party could be elevated to the rank of the prime minister. Could be K.P.Woli or Bam Dev?
The same applies to the congress. Talks are there that the King if does not invite Koirala then he could think of Ram Chandra Poudel and Mr. Bastola.
All guess works only.
Informed sources say that the political mess is expected to continue till Friday.