KATHMANDU: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's proposed India visit has been postponed further due to internal reasons, including the jolt in the recent by-elections, and it is unlikely that his first foreign visit will take place before June, source said.
Prachanda's trip to India has already been delayed twice because of internal issues. His journey to India would have been his first overseas excursion since his third election as Prime Minister in December of last year.
“Nepal government is preparing to present its annual budget for the fiscal year ahad towards May-end and the Prime Minister’s visit to India will take place only after that,” the top aide close to Prime Minister Prachanda reported earlier. Due to internal issues, the proposed visit by the prime minister has been further postponed, and it is unlikely that the first overseas travel will happen until June, said the aide, who declined to be named.
Earlier, the government was busy getting ready for Prachanda's trip to India, which would take place between May 2 and May 3. In order to preserve political stability in the nation, the results of the just-completed by-elections in Nepal have also pushed the 68-year-old Prime Minister to reconsider the trip.
The ruling alliance lost two of the three seats for which by-elections were held this month, one in Tanhu and the other in Chitawan. With the support of the ruling coalition, only Upendra Yadav, the head of the Janata Samajwadi Party, was able to prevail in Bara - 2.
The Rashtriya Swotantra Party (RSP), which gained two seats in the by-election, has made it clear that it will not join the Prachanda-led administration in the immediate future and that it is considering whether to continue providing outside support to the coalition government.
While well-known economist Swornim Wagle won from Tanhu - 1, TV journalist-turned-politician Ravi Lamichhane won from Chitawan - 2. The Prachanda-led government will need the cooperation of RSP, which has 21 seats in the House of Representatives.
The larger parties led by senior leaders were humiliated by the triumph for the newly created RSP. The Nepali Congress ran candidates in both constituencies with the support of the ruling coalition.
The Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN-Unified Socialist, Nagarik Unmukti Party, Janamat Party, Janta Samajwadi Party, Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party, and Rashtriya Janamorcha are all members of the new eight-party coalition led by Prachanda.
N P Saud, the recently appointed foreign minister, has stated that the administration is making significant efforts to ensure that Prachanda's next visit to India is successful.
He told the official publication Gorkhapatra that the Nepali government wanted the visit to be successful. In order to establish priorities, he stated, "we are working on a results-oriented schedule and major preparations are underway. He noted that "preliminary discussions among various ministries regarding the Prime Minister's visit have been completed."
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