After three months of provincial and federal elections and a month after being sworn in as Nepal’s Prime Minister, KP Oli announced the names in his 21 - member Cabinet. The alliance between the Communist Party of Nepal, the United Marxist Leninist (UML) and the United Maoist Center won 116 seats out of the 165 directly elected representative seats and 58 out of the 110 proportional representation seats.
The elections were won on two major points. First, whipping up the nationalism sentiment, as KP Oli did during his stand - off with India during the blockade in September 2015. When Nepal was reeling in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in 2015, the Indian blockade put the lives of 28 million people at risk.
Second, the elections were fought on the agenda of economic development and prosperity. Voters were disenchanted with the Nepali Congress, especially its president and incumbent Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba; and there were no other alternatives apart from a newly - formed Bibeksheel Sajha Party, that was fighting their first elections in a few places.
The Indian External Affairs Minister was in Nepal to congratulate PM Oli, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Nepal later this year. The Eminent Persons Group (EPG), formed between India and Nepal to review the 1950 treaty, is also getting its report ready for final touches.
Source: The Quint
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