Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli mulls health emergency amid political crisis

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has tried many things to cover his incompetence from provoking territorial nationalism to fixing his country's map and even overplaying the anti-India card to garner sympathies.

Oli also banked on Beijing to survive a rebellion and he accused his party colleagues of conspiring with a foreign power but none of it has worked as he still stands to lose his chair.

However, the 68-year-old Nepal prime minister is now fighting back. He has come up with another bright idea - imposing emergency.

PM Oli wants to declare a health emergency in Nepal and wants troops to be deployed to deal with the Wuhan virus. Reports say comrade Oli has been discussing the implementation of a health emergency with Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari in a bid to get some respite from growing criticism.

But nobody is in favour of the plan. The president of Nepal is not on board and neither is the Nepalese army as they don't want an emergency at the time of a political crisis. The Nepalese army is not in favour of deploying troops. The president wants comrade Oli to settle the party disputes first, although he has been trying to do it but hasn't got much success.

On Thursday, reports said that Oli was going to meet his party's co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. It would be the second meeting in 24 hours to resolve differences but there is no word on whether the meeting took place. The prime minister is running out of time even as the standing committee of the Nepal Communist Party meets on Friday.

The meeting is set to pass a resolution to oust Ol from the prime minister's office and the party leadership. Reports say Oli will be made to compromise on at least one of these positions. At least 30 out of 44 standing committee members are against him, if they manage to pass such a resolution, it will go the party's central committee where Oli's chances are again very limited.

Oli's supporters are in minority in the central committee. In 2017, KP Sharma Oli had emerged victorious from one of Nepal's most divisive elections amid clashes, killings and civil unrest. Comrade Oli was seen as the unifying force from Maoists and Royalists.

Nepal's elite to lawmakers with Indian ancestry everybody trusted Oli to lead a "rainbow coalition" of parties. It's been four years and Nepal is back to square one. In fact, it has never been this divided. Oli's poor pandemic response has angered Nepal's youth and his anti-India rhetoric has split the Nepalese civil society.

Oli's surrender to China and its embassy have disappointed his own party. Oli may manage to keep his chair but he'll be sitting like the Damocles with a sword hanging over his head.