Political Polarizations

List of Prime Ministers of Nepal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Maoists Have Split, The NC, UML Will Split

The leadership of the two status quo parties - the NC, and the UML - are the reason the country today has neither the new constitution nor a constituent assembly. They got in the way of due process and cost the country billions. That is a political crime and has to be punished. The appropriate punishment is for the Janajati and Madhesi leaders inside those two parties to walk away and form a new party or two. The best outcome of the premature dissolution of the constituent assembly will be the birth of the country's first Janajati party. I look forward to that happening.

The Maoist Split

The Baidya faction is going to be like the Bamdev faction of the UML when they split. The Baidya faction will weaken the mother party some, sure, but it might not win more than a handful of seats should it contest elections on its own. And by his own admission Baidya does not want to launch a revolution, not now, the precise accusation based on which he walked away. Now the mother party has an even bigger reason to form electoral alliances with the Madhesi parties.

All Party Election Government

As the choice of the biggest party in the last elected body in the country I think Baburam Bhattarai is the most suitable person to lead an all party government to fresh elections to a new constituent assembly in the country. To go for a name like Sushil Koirala at this point would be to give in to the tendency among the NC and the UML leadership to disregard due process, the tendency that deprived the country a new constitution the last time around.

One Unified Madhesi Party

The talk along those lines in some quarters are positive but perhaps not realistic at this juncture. A meaningful electoral alliance might be more realistic.

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What's Most Disappointing

The number one thing I have pushed for in Nepal's new constitution is turning Nepal into a democracy of state funded parties. Do that and there will be no need for the "revolution" the hardliner Maoists still dream about.

Of all parties I thought the Maoists might bite the idea. But they haven't. And for the longest time I thought it is because the Maoists have too much money. But now when there is a de facto ideological vertical split in the Maoist party I no longer think that is the reason.

Not going for that goal I attribute to the inferiority complex of the Nepali politicians, Maoists as well everyone else. Someone else somewhere else has to have thought of a political idea before a Nepali politician will adopt it.

Turning Nepal into a multi party democracy of state funded parties would be a fusion of the two competing ideologies of the past century. But not even the Maoists are going for it.

I get the impression the Maoists are settling for a republic. Getting rid of the monarchy was a big enough achievement for them. Classlessness is not a goal no more.

It amazes me.

6 States: Possible
A Non Territorial State For Dalits: Great Idea
Proposed Constitution
Mantra: Economic Revolution

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• A turning point in Nepal
• Another step on Nepal's long march to peace.
• Nepal Army Takes Over PLA Camps: Integration Reaches The 'Irreversible Mode' - Analysis
• Maoist factions hold separate shows
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• Nepali Year 2069 brings new era in Nepal's history: Japan (thehimalayantimes.com)
• NC blasts UCPN-M double (thehimalayantimes.com)
• Civil society blames parties for 'slip-ups' (thehimalayantimes.com)
• What to do with the Maoists in Nepal? (macleans.ca)
• Nepali Maoist leader adopts millionaire's lifestyle (telegraph.co.uk)

6 States: Possible

Good Map, Bad Map

I think it is possible to have a fair federalism with the six states shown in the map above. And there is no need to give ethnic names to the states. Or perhaps a mix. Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali, Eastern Terai, Western Terai.

But it can not be a truncated Terai like in the map below where the easternmost and the westernmost parts are lost. And there is no arguing Chitwan is not part of the Terai.

Since half of the people live in the Terai, half the parliamentary seats have to be in the Terai. The directly elected president has to be a one person, one vote thing nationwide.