K P Oli as Ne pal’s PM after nine tur bulent months in office and the subsequent jubilation in India have put to test the ageold Nepali proverb: Junai jogi aaye pani kaanai chireko (Whoever the mendicant, he’ll always have his earlobes pierced). The question is how different Oli’s successor Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) will be for Delhi. Dahal is chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre). Sure of losing a trust vote, Oli quit on Sunday before Nepal’s parliament put it to vote. The motion was moved by Prachanda, the man who last autumn made Oli the PM and now succeeds him. Many in India rejoice the fall of tough-talking Oli, his aggressive public utterances often called Oli ko goli (Oli’s gunshots). This is for two reasons: They hope India will regain its pre-eminence in Kathmandu, a status the outgoing PM wanted Beijing to enjoy as well. And, they think the change of guard will revive efforts to end the stalemate over autonomy to the Madhesis (Indian origin Nepalis) living in the terai bordering Bihar and UP.
