Deftly deflecting us from the whys and hows, Unified Marxist-Leninist leader Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli and Unified Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ insisted on what they touted as a historical inevitability.
The commentariat uniformly considered it too good to be true. A few others didn’t shy away from declaring that it would be bad if it were true. Yet Oli and Dahal persisted over countless one-on-one sessions but let on precious little. Photographs showed them sipping tea and swapping tales. Nepalis were persuaded that this was a done deal. The only thing left was to figure out how to do it.
The bad blood between the two factions existed in its darkest hue. Yet key members of each faction – many as clueless as the rest of us – pushed for unification. It was thrust down our throats with a surfeit of zero-calorie sweeteners.
According to the prevailing narrative, the Chinese masterminded the unification for their political and strategic ends. If Nepalis could not produce our version of the Kim dynasty, we could put in power a communist government in perpetual majority. North Korea and Nepal needn’t be alike. Democracy promotion with Chinese characteristics had enogh local camouflage to contrast it favorably with western-inspired color-coded revolutions.
But, then, maybe the Indians were behind it all. Their 12-point agenda had gone through so many contortions that a majority government was the only saving grace. At least the 1990 Constitution had produced a majority government (even if it didn’t turn out to be a good omen).
Or was it the Americans? A two-thirds-majority endorsement of the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact was within reach, despite the ruling party's perfunctory noises.
To stretch the story a bit, maybe a united communist party was the best way of containing China. Let’s not forget how the Indians and Americans portrayed the Chinese as driving the Nepali Maoists, only to see Beijing reap low-investment post-monarchy rewards in a way neither New Delhi nor Washington had anticipated.
When Messrs. Oli and Dahal finally came up with an extended unification plan to be formalized through a party convention, they couldn’t even get the new organization’s name right. They added the abbreviation to the party’s official name. Common parlance christened the new party ‘Double NeKaPa’.
That oversight became the butt of many jokes. In retrospect, it has become far more tempting to wonder whether our comrades had deliberated placed that as an escape clause. Power, pelf and patronage were too enticing prospects not to foist a hoax upon the country, especially when the Constitution specifically forbad a no-confidence vote for two years.
Politicians are what they are. How could the country go along with such a transparent sham? The question may have come too late for any redeeming value. Still, it’s becoming harder not to ask.
