Away from all the political action in Delhi, Nepal elected a Madhesi as its first president. And strangely, there were loud cheers from the BJP-RSS camp in Delhi. With the Congress cold-shouldering GP Koirala’s candidature under pressure from the Indian leftists, the middle ground shifted to the right and the Nepali Congress re-energised its contacts with the BJP in a bid to keep the Maoists from gaining absolute control of administration. The power struggle in Nepal’s Left allowed the Nepali Congress to drag down the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist)’s Madhav Kumar Nepal with it. The RSS-Madhesi contact is an established one and it is believed that top BJP and RSS leaders played a vital role in getting the three parties to unite behind Ram Baran Yadav, leaving the frustrated Maoists to pull out of the race. The Koiralas have reportedly thanked the BJP, while one of the first congratulatory calls to Yadav went from BJP president Rajnath Singh as the RSS looks to strengthen its position in Nepal.
