Could Nepal’s new communist alliance lead to closer ties with China?
Political allegiances may suggest an ideological shift towards Beijing, but analysts say Kathmandu remains India’s ally
The creation of an alliance of communist parties in Nepal ahead of the upcoming provincial and national elections could lead to closer ties between Kathmandu and Beijing, observers said.
The political reshuffle began on October 3, when the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist- Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) – two of the country’s biggest parties – agreed, along with the smaller Naya Shakti party, to form a single communist bloc, which its leaders called a “historic necessity solely in the interest of Nepal and its people”.
The move saw the Maoists breaking away from an existing alliance with the Nepali Congress, the current ruling party under Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. In response, the Nepali Congress on October 5 amassed a right-wing coalition of parties in a “democratic alliance”.
The newly allied communist parties all had a “really good relationship with China”, which could give Beijing more room to engage with Kathmandu, which in turn would be a setback for India, Nepal’s traditional ally, said Pramod Jaiswal, a visiting research fellow at the New Delhi-based think tank Institution of Peace and Conflict Studies.
“Everything that’s happening ... all the political developments in Nepal are always connected to India and China,” he said. “On economic issues, [the communist parties] feel that China can give them more.”
