Prachanda's 26th day in Singha Darbar

KATHMANDU, Jan. 20: "The first time I was the Prime Minister, it passed in the blink of an eye. I had to resign without understanding anything. When I was the Prime Minister for the second time, I did some reform work. Work was done to connect the plains and the mountains. Now if I get the chance to become the Prime Minister, I am going to break the record," President of CPN-Maoist Center and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' had said.

Prachanda had announced in the Press Center Nepal official meeting held in Lalitpur on the 11th of December that if he became the prime minister, he would do an excellent job. Prachanda is on that same throne of breaking records after he was appointed as the Prime Minister on December 25.

Prachanda was appointed as Prime Minister with the support of a seven-party alliance including CPN-UML, Janata Samajbadi Party, Rashtriya Swatantra Party, and independent MPs. After becoming the Prime Minister, Prachanda took oath on December 26 and formed a small cabinet. Within 22 days of taking the same oath, the Prime Minister expanded the cabinet for the second time and made it 23 membered. Now only new ministers remaining to be appointed, are in the Ministry of Forest and Environment and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

After the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) and the Janmat Party expressed their displeasure over the division of ministries, the Council of Ministers could not be completed. Prachanda has a plan to speed up his work by completing this matter soon.

After becoming the Prime Minister, Prachanda has said that he has focused his attention on addressing issues of public concern; like solving the problem of passports, listening to the complaints of Nepalese abroad, etc.

Prachanda, who has promised to break records in development and good governance, seems to have started something in the beginning, but it will be evaluated based on how he will proceed in the future.

However, Prachanda has said that he will listen to people's complaints more than during the inauguration. As promised, he inaugurated Pokhara International Airport on January 17. Apart from that, he has not inaugurated or laid the foundation stone of any other big project. The Secretariat says that no time was spent on ribbon-cutting and the inauguration of other programs. According to the secretariat, the prime minister spends more time on public affairs.

Prachanda called the secretaries of the ministry and gave them 30 points. What is the reason for the low development expenditure? Questioning that, Prachanda asked to bring a proposal for reform if there is a problem at the policy level. Similarly, he also instructed to work with a commitment to good governance saying that no agency should be left behind to implement the problems related to the people.

Similarly, Prachanda announced the government's policy priorities and minimum program on the 9th of January. In 21 points, some points of policy and structural reforms have been presented with prominence. According to this, it has been mentioned that a high-level commission with powers will be formed and the judiciary will be purified and reformed in accordance with its suggestions and recommendations. Likewise, it has been mentioned that common citizens will get easy, quick, and fair justice. Priority has been given to the issues of public concern, agriculture, education, and employment, while a policy of zero tolerance against corruption has been adopted.

It has been only 26 days since Prachanda became the Prime Minister. In such a situation, the question is whether he can continue this pace or not. Stakeholders say that it is not easy for Prachanda to move forward due to the fact that the seven-party alliance has different ideologies and beliefs.

Similarly, many say that it is difficult for Prachanda to achieve success by pleasing the second largest party in the parliament, the UML, and the president of that party, KP Sharma Oli.

Political analyst Geza Sharma Wagle also commented that it is not easy for Prachanda to work. He said that since the Maoist center has only 32 seats in the parliament, Prachanda is forced to work under the direction of UML president KP Sharma Oli. "Since Prachanda has only 32 seats, he has to work under the direction of UML president KP Oli," he told Ratopati. "Maoists could not get important ministries like home, finance, and foreign affairs. One of these ministries had to be given to the Prime Minister, but Prachanda did not get any of them," he added.

He further said, "For Prachanda to be successful, one of the three ministries should have been given to him." Sharma's analysis is that the support given by Congress in taking the vote of confidence in Prachanda's weakness gave him some relief.

He has added that the role of UML is decisive in this alliance. According to the information he provided, the Rashtriya Swatantra Party and RPP are loyal to the UML President rather than the Prime Minister, so there might be problems from time to time.

He mentioned that there is a clamor in Prachanda to do something and he has also shown some activism in it. Sharma said, 'His desire and feeling must be one. But the political situation is not favorable for him.