Constant squabbling over power sharing between two factions of the Nepal Communist Party, one led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the other by Prachanda, has pushed the country to the brink of snap polls (slated for April-May) after the President accepted Oli’s recommendation to dissolve the lower house of Parliament and go for fresh elections. Oli, who has been expelled from the party by the rival faction, is trying to seek India’s support for holding the elections, says Kamal Dev Bhattarai, a Kathmandu-based journalist writing on Nepal’s political and foreign affairs. With a caretaker government in Nepal now, Nepalese foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali’s recent visit to India (to attend the sixth meeting of the India-Nepal Joint Commission on January 15) was actually aimed at enlisting India support for Oli’s move to seek a fresh mandate, Bhattarai told StratNews Global. Listen in for more.

Podcast Producer : Manas R.Tarai