![Nepal: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to take vote of confidence on Sunday](https://img.etimg.com/thumb/msid-111823140,width-300,height-225,imgsize-9952,resizemode-75/nepal-prime-minister-kp-sharma-oli-to-take-vote-of-confidence-on-sunday.jpg)
Oli’s first term was marked by the 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 Nepal’s constitution was amended to address the concerns of the agitating communities.
Following 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 to 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 Nepal’s leading English daily, The Kathmandu Post.
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 aka Prachanda enjoyed a near two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives.
In his authoritarian streak during those years, Oli brought all the key investigating agencies – the National Intelligence Department, Department of Revenue Investigation and the Department of Money Laundering – under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office.
But he largely ignored the economy and the Nepalese dream of moving out of the least developed country (LDC) status still remains unfulfilled.
“His intolerance for dissent became apparent when he banned protests at Maitighar, near Singha Durbar, the government’s seat,” Kathmandu Post said in a report. “His government then prepared a slew of bills aiming to muzzle the media, curtail freedom of expression and shrink civic space. He had contested the elections by selling big dreams – railway connecting China, Nepal’s own ship in the high seas, and distribution of gas through pipelines, among other things. But none of these dreams even came close to fruition.”
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 and Madhav Kumar Nepal to ally against him, leading to a split in the Nepal Communist Party.
All eyes now will be on his new term in office amid his dependence on Nepali Congress. After taking the oath of office and secrecy at the president's office in Kathmandu on Monday, Oli instructed his 21 cabinet ministers to set deadlines for their work and bring about visible changes within a month.
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