Nepal PM isolated, testing time for his government

Oli, of the leftist Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), promised to resolve simmering tensions in the southern plains and lift a blockade of the Indian border when he was voted in to power almost four months ago. Yet sporadic violence, in which more than 50 people have died since August, continues in the Himalayan nation with police shooting dead three demonstrators last month. 

Protest leaders say the heavy-handed police tactics show the government is not sincere about finding a solution, while in Kathmandu residents have to choose between queuing for hours for fuel and gas and paying exorbitant prices on the black market. 

Oli, 63, heads a fractious cabinet with no less than six deputy premiers - one a royalist bent on reinstating the monarchy and another the leader of a party representing minority Madhesis who has yet to sign the constitution. 

Oli’s hostile rhetoric has annoyed New Delhi, said a former diplomat. Vijay K Karna, a Madhesi protest leader, described Oli as “the main problem” in efforts to reach a constitutional compromise. 

Bishnu Rimal, Oli’s political adviser, sees no immediate threat to the government that could last until elections due in 2018. However, following a winter lull, Madhesi leaders are under pressure to revive their campaign for a unified plains province. 

The party to watch is the opposition Nepali Congress, the largest in parliament, which will elect a president at its general convention in March. It will face a choice between joining a government of national unity or attempting to capture power by dislodging Oli, according to a local level Congress leader.