India was hoping Wednesday that the Maoists led by Prachanda would see reason and support a government led by the Nepali Congress party after Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal announced his resignation in a televised speech.
Although the coming days will see intense negotiations and bargaining over Mr Nepal’s successor, India has laid down some markers that the next Premier should be one who can carry a critical mass of political leaders from other parties with him. A source told this newspaper that it was not a question of who can command a majority, but who will enjoy a two-third majority required for completing the task of writing the new Constitution.
The prospects for a national unity government were not certain because the Maoists were still mulling their options. The underlying problems could still remain unless there was some degree of trust between the Maoists and the other parties. However, what was becoming apparent was that Mr Nepal’s party was not likely to stake claim again.