Nepal’s interim parliament meets today, Maoists make the second largest party

The seven party alliance and the Maoists have submitted the list of their parliamentarians for the interim House in which Maoists with 83 will equal the Communist Party of Nepal—United Marxist Leninist and be only two members less than the Nepali Congress. The Maoist list includes Kumar Phudung, a retired Major General of the Royal Nepal Army who happens to be the brother-in-law of the House Speaker, a UML leader.

The Nepali Congress, which authorised Prime Minister G P Koirala to decide its ten new members in addition to the ones of the dissolved House, saw Koirala include his daughter Sujata and nephew Shekhar Koirala in the list. This has led to criticism from within.

The new composition of the House, political analysts say, may also threaten stability of the government although the interim constitution does not have any provision to remove the PM. This was indicated recently by senior Maoist leader Dinanath Sharma who said his party would take the initiative for Left unity by forming a front. Although the interim government headed by Koirala will have members from all eight parties, including Maoists, a Left assertion may weaken his position.