Following some tangible loopholes in the constitution and severe erosion of civilized culture, Nepali politics is regularly embroiled in unsolicited irregularities and a series of nauseatingly deep instabilities. One of its exclusive outcomes is the intermittent change of executive head of the nation. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the chairman of the CPN (Maoist Centre), was appointed as the 44th prime minister a year ago and as the 27th PM in his previous stint during the 32-year democratic exercise from 2046 onwards. Furthermore, he has experienced a rare incidence of commanding a vote of confidence from parliament two times in two consecutive months, sometimes ago. The house, which has constituted and confirmed him as premier of the nation, is certain to get at least three prime ministers within the next three years. It is his third innings so far, people are hopeful that he does something better and memorable. However, the review of the annual progress and chunks of challenges indicate otherwise.
Despite his claim that the CPN (Maoist Centre) being the only dedicated party for the people, it is highly doubtful that people will elect Maoist leaders with any notable presence in parliament in the future. Dahal may never gain the chance again to lead the government. Nepal Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who once charged him with treason and put a price tag on his head, is his supporter now in a twist of events. Making Deuba as subordinate might have psychologically gratified him a lot. But how gratified people remain this time with his government is a riddle for further assessment.
Thus, on one hand, it is a great occasion for him but on the other hand it is a challenging time to rectify his ruined prestige. Despite being the first prime minister in the republican setup following the first constituent assembly election and the rise of his party as the largest party back then, Dahal failed to carry impressive works for the benefit of the people. Moreover, he was engaged in petty issues, which had neither any significant value for the people nor did they meet public expectations. Thus, he not only dwindled the party’s stature but also eroded his own prestige. The second innings too was not very impressive and beneficial for the people. Now, he had a golden opportunity to regain his ruined image, but for that, he had to accomplish two sorts of activities: one of immediate need and the second of long term values. But it seems that he is moving in the reverse gear.
As a couple of new and fringe political parties are also claiming an oversized stake in the government, he failed to take them in confidence by addressing their genuine demands.
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The prime minister is under mounting pressure to curb the increasing graph of black-marketing, robberies, murders and lootings, institutional irregularities, and inaction. His failure to indict his accomplices in corruption scams, being subservient and submissive to Congress and engaging into senseless mudslinging towards opponents has collectively weakened him a lot.
Adopting a balanced foreign policy and improving the Indo-Nepal nexus could be another significantly stressful point.
With the establishment of a republican setup, the series of political changes are now over. It is now the time to think of economic prosperity. Economic prosperity of a nation matters more than any other issue.
People’s prestige is intertwined with the economic status of a nation. Our neighbors, mostly East Asian nations, have achieved inexplicably exponential economic growth, recently. For instance, Samsung company alone contributes about 30% of the GDP of South-Korea. The per capita income of Singapore is more than US$ 82000. Japan and Thailand have marvelously improved in the last two decades. China has reportedly brought 880 million people above the poverty line. However, Nepal has remained a silent spectator to the progress of neighboring countries while we take the backseat.
The people are only concerned about economic development. No political experimentation prospers in the absence of economic growth. Dahal should have remained apparently determined to take some bold steps to lift up the country economically but he failed to do so. At least, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had inspired the people to dream during his first innings but those tall promises were wrecked by his dismal performance in the second innings.
Dahal should now implement a few plans which can have immediate impacts on public lives. People should feel the rule of law. The prime minister must work tirelessly to end anarchy, impunity, corruption, nepotism and partisan preferences. He needs to create an investment-friendly environment. Some extraordinary and visionary plans are needed to alleviate poverty, create employment and ensure financial sustainability.
Dahal faces an uphill battle to achieve all this.
If he can achieve this, he will definitely be able to mend his reputation.
But the failure to address these issues will ruin his regime. Thus, he needs to do a soul searching to regain the trust of the public. Hopefully, this innings will be fruitful.
