Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" on Monday took oath as the 38th Prime Minister of Nepal.
Prachanda, 68, emerged as the Prime Minister of Nepal on Sunday after he jumped ship to join the rival political bloc led by former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli. This is his third prime ministerial tenure. Earlier, Prachanda was the Prime Minister during 2008-09 and 2016-17.
Though 38th Prime Minister overall, Prachanda will be the 10th Prime Minister of Nepal since the country transitioned from monarchy to democracy. Nepal has seen so many prime ministers in just 16 years as the country is in a near-perpetual state of political uncertainty. No prime minister has so far completed full tenure.
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Besides Prachanda, seven Cabinet ministers also took oath on Monday, including three Deputy Prime Ministers. The Deputy PMs are Bishnu Paudel, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, and Rabi Lamichhane.
How Prachanda became Nepal's PM
Prachanda's CPN-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) contested the elections as a coalition partner of former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba-led Nepali Congress (NC).
The NC-led alliance comprising CPN-MC was pitted against an alliance led by Oli's CPN-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML).
Until Sunday afternoon, Deuba was slated to be the Prime Minister of Nepal, but disagreements between him and Prachanda led to Prachanda switching to Oli's camp. Oli supported Prachanda's bid to be the Prime Minister.
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A crucial meeting was held at Oli's residence where the CPN-MC and other smaller parties agreed to form a government under the leadership of Prachanda. There has been an understanding between Prachanda and Oli to lead the government on a rotation basis and Oli agreed to make Prachanda the PM at the first chance as per his demand.
Oli's emerges as kingmaker
Though Prachanda is the Prime Minister of Nepal, it's not lost on anyone that Oli is the one who has enabled it.
Oli has not just secured hold over the federal government, he is also slated to get his loyalists installed in Nepal's seven provinces. Oli now gets to have his own candidate for the head of the state and the Speaker of the House of Representatives along with plum ministries and a majority of the provincial chief ministers.
Moreover, the new alliance of the seven parties seems to be headed to form governments in all seven provinces.
(With PTI inputs)
