Thursday, November 28, 2013

Consensus Government For A Consensus Constitution


President: Ram Baran Yadav. He gets to continue because that is what the interim constitution says.
Prime Minister: Sushil Koirala.
Deputy Prime Minister: KP Oli might feel it is his turn.
Ministers:
Congress 9
UML 7
Maoist 4
MJFD 1
MJFN 1
TMLP 1
SP 1

This would represent 499 out of 575 seats. That is a comfortable margin for constitution making.

It is important to bring the four forces together so as to ensure smooth constitution making. On the tricky issue of federalism, I think we can make do with six states, four in the Hills/Mountains, and two in the Terai, all of them with one word geographic names. That is how I am reading the people's mandate.
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Formula For Unification

Eastern Terai -  - HT -3
Eastern Terai - - HT -3 (Photo credit: lecercle)

  1. Come up with a new name. Do not use any existing name. Make that name ethnicity and geography neutral. Keep it short. How about Samabeshi Party? Just a thought. 
  2. The party presidency goes to Gachhedar because (a) his party was the top vote earner, and (b) Tharus are the most populous ethnic group in the Terai
  3. Mahantha Thakur gets the Sarbamanya Neta title for being the most senior leader. 
  4. Upendra Yadav, Rajendra Mahto and Sharad Singh Bhandari can be the three Vice Presidents. They also just so happen to represent Yadavs, Vaisyas, and the indigenous Pahadis in the Terai. People like Sharad Singh Bhandari are of Pahadi origin but they have been in the Terai for generations. They know no other home. 
  5. A 11 member Politburo and a 31 member Central Committee would house all top leaders. Leaders of the Terai Madhesh Sadbhavana Party, the Dalit Janajati Party, and the Nepali Janata Dal belong in the Politburo as does Sarita Giri for being the top woman Madhesi leader. 
  6. The vote tally of each party is the sole determinant of what seat they get at the table. 
  7. Hold a national convention before monsoon, perhaps in April and go on to win the local and state elections.  

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Madhesi Parties: 12 Lakh PR Votes


There was an anti-Maoist wave, but there was no anti-Madhesi wave. If the Madhesi parties had been one, that unified party would have emerged as the third largest. But that is simple arithmetic. That unification might have created a pro-Madhesi wave, and that wave might have catapulted the unified party into a possible second position.

This is not a question of what the 13 million Madhesis will do, if they are politically conscious or not, or how they will vote. This is a question of what two dozen Madhesi leaders will do. Will they live up to the promise?

If one unified Madhesi party emerges, that party will produce the Chief Ministers in both states in the Terai.
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