Indian and China hover over Nepal

By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE - Nearly four months after Nepal's prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stepped down under pressure from the opposition Maoists, the political impasse is showing no signs of resolution as the country flounders without a government.

None of the candidates in the fray has been able to secure a simple majority in the 601-seat parliament in around 12 rounds of voting so far.

Former prime minister and Maoist chief Pushpa Kumar Dahal, aka Prachanda, contested in seven rounds but failed to secure the required number of votes in any, although his party, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), is the largest in parliament. Visit following website at Asia Times Online to read detailed story:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LJ23Df01.html

In the most recent round, the lone candidate, the Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudel, managed to get just 89 votes. The Maoists, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) (CPN-UML) and three Madhesi parties stayed out of the vote, having reached an agreement to work towards formation of a national government as a way out of the impasse.