By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
Copyright indiatimes
Nepal’s deposed prime minister KP Sharma Oli, a political survivor through Nepal’s tumultuous politics and often described as a wily fox, could not survive the movement launched by Gen Z that shook the politics of the Himalayan state, akin to the Maoist movement.Known to be politically canny, Oli survived many political battles but the student movement, fuelled by decades of unfulfilled aspiration, was too hot for the Communist leader to handle.Very few would have imagined the fate Oli met when he rubbed shoulders with the presidents of Russia and China and other leaders at the SCO summit and met PM Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the mega meet in Tianjin in China. The ground below his feet was shifting fast and, uncharacteristically for a Communist, he failed to read the pulse of the masses, specifically the youth.Observers of Nepalese politics claimed Oli had grown authoritarian over the years losing touch with reality. Earlier, as deputy PM Oli often came across as a grounded politician taking time out from his busy schedule to meet every party worker. Oli was just a phone call away for journalists, including scribes from India.Oli’s first term as PM was marked by India-led blockade in the Madhesh region in 2015, followed by a trade and transit treaty with China aimed at reducing dependence on India. A few months into Oli’s tenure, India withdrew its blockade while the country’s constitution was amended to address the concerns of the agitating communities.Live EventsFollowing his initiatives, Oli rode high on a nationalism plank unseen in Nepal’s recent history. “Oli’s nationalist graph as prime minister for 10 months between October 2015 and August 2016 went up so high that his CPN-UML not only emerged the largest party from the 2017 election but was very close to the majority mark on its own,” according to a report published in Nepal’s leading English daily ‘The Kathmandu Post’ in 2024.When Oli became PM for the second time in February 2018, he had a bigger mandate. After a merger with the CPN (Maoist Centre), the Nepal Communist Party that he jointly led with Pushpa Kamal Dahal, enjoyed a near two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives.But his authoritarian streak during those years dashed all hopes of the Nepalese dream of a strong economy. Oli brought the National Intelligence Department, the Department of Revenue Investigation and the Department of Money Laundering under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office.As Oli started losing ground, he played another nationalist card in 2020 – amending the Constitution to show Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura in Nepal’s map – souring ties with India. Subsequently, Oli’s action forced Prachanda or Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal to ally against him, leading to a split in the Nepal Communist Party.In his current term in office from 2024, Oli made no efforts to visit New Delhi, which was customary for all Nepalese PMs after being sworn in. But he was toppled when a plan for his visit to India was in the works this month.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
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