The Royal Palace and Delhi Connection: Electoral Strategy or Political Earthquake?
Kathmandu: Nepal’s political landscape has become turbulent once again on the eve of the elections. Suspicions and speculations have increased following discussions about former King Gyanendra Shah taking to the streets and the heightened activities of various powerful nations. Meanwhile, the sudden visit of four former Army Chiefs to Delhi has created a new stir in political circles.
As preparations for the election scheduled for Falgun 21 are reaching their peak, former Chiefs of the Nepali Army – Purna Chandra Thapa, Pyar Jung Thapa, Rajendra Kshetri, and Gaurav Shamsher Rana – departed for New Delhi on Thursday. According to sources, among them, Rajendra Kshetri and Purna Chandra Thapa went to Delhi in the afternoon via a Nepal Airlines flight, while Pyar Jung Thapa and Gaurav Shamsher Rana took a morning flight operated by Air India. This visit by the former army chiefs right before the election has led to assessments that a game to restore the monarchy in Nepal may have begun.
In this context, Durga Prasai, the coordinator of the ‘Nation, Nationality, Religion, Culture and Citizen Rescue Great Campaign,’ has informed that King Gyanendra will come to the streets and has called upon his supporters to gather in Kathmandu by Saturday. He claims that geo-political maneuvering has intensified and that the royal family is preparing to come out to save the state. This is also being assessed as a factor that could turn the electoral atmosphere in a different direction.
Similarly, rumors are being spread that countries like India, China, and Russia are in favor of restoring the monarchy in Nepal to stop the interference of Western nations. Entrusting the Nepali Army with the entire responsibility of election security has also raised various suspicions and questions.
On the other hand, senior leader of the main opposition party, Nepali Congress, and outgoing president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has served as Prime Minister the most number of times, has suddenly departed for Singapore as the voting day approaches. This sudden foreign trip by Deuba has also fueled suspicions that some new equations might be forming in Nepali politics. The political circle from the Terai to the hills is currently abuzz with speculation that an unexpected event might occur even before the elections. Is this merely a coincidence, or a sign of a larger political game?
