Nepali politics will get stormier in lead-up to polls

Significance

Today, Deuba’s Nepali Congress (NC) party and its governing partners said they will contest the polls as an alliance. The opposition challenge will be led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or CPN(UML).

Impacts

• There will likely be at least some instances of election-related violence.
• Overcoming disagreements about seat-sharing may prove a tough challenge for the NC and its allies.
• India, China and the United States will try to consolidate links with key players across the political spectrum.