Nepal 2024: Politicians play musical chairs, new PM does balancing act between India and China

Kathmandu: The tradition of musical chairs continued in Nepal politics in 2024. Coalition equations changed yet again with a dispensation perceived as pro-China coming to power, a development India viewed with caution.

K P Sharma Oli, 72, became prime minister for the fourth time to lead a new coalition government that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability to the Himalayan nation.

In July, Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', 69, lost a trust vote as Oli's Communist Party of Nepal (Unified-Marxist) withdrew support to his government after inking a new power-sharing deal with the largest party in the House led by Sher Bahadur Deuba. Under their deal, Oli will hand over power to Nepali Congress leader Deuba after 20 months.

The year began with a visit by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Nepal in January, and Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba visited India as the year came to a close.

Rana also visited earlier in August, a week after India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri came to Nepal to discuss cooperation in sectors like trade, tourism, connectivity, water resources, energy, disaster management, agriculture and defence.

During his visit, Jaishankar announced that India will provide Rs 10 billion, equivalent to $75 million, in grants for reconstruction work at earthquake-hit sites in Nepal.

India also continued to fund infrastructure projects in health and education under the High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) agreement in remote areas.

Endowed with several Himalayan rivers, Nepal reached an agreement with India to export 10,000 MW of electricity in the next 10 years. In October, Nepal, India and Bangladesh also signed a tripartite agreement for exporting electricity to Bangladesh through Indian transmission lines.

Four years after it unveiled a controversial map that showed Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani territories within its own boundaries, Kathmandu announced that a new Rs 100 currency note will feature the changes. India has already termed the revision of the Nepal map as ‘untenable’.

Ironically, a Chinese company has been awarded the contract to print the new notes.

China and Nepal reopened their traditional border trade points in May, two months after then deputy prime minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha visited Tibet and urged Beijing to do so.

Oli has insisted that Nepal maintains friendly relations with both India and China in a “balanced” manner, and said that occasional problems between neighbours are “natural” and can be resolved through an “open dialogue.” He broke with the usual practice of Nepal PMs making India their first destination in the neighbourhood after assuming charge, and embarked on a China visit in December. The only exception to this practice over the decades has been Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ in 2008.

During Oli's visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a 500 million RMB grant to Nepal and pledged efforts to advance their strategic partnership. Nepal and China signed 10 agreements, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation framework.

Nepal has been part of the China-promoted mega connectivity effort since 2017 but no project has actually been implemented yet. India is wary of the BRI, often seen as a device to further China’s global influence with investments to build infrastructure.

The consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 was also celebrated in Nepal’s Janakpur, believed to be the birthplace of Goddess Sita.

The year was no exception to Nepal's staple of Himalayan problems – floods and earthquakes.

Floods and landslides created havoc in September, killing more than 241 across the country, including 56 in the Kathmandu district. Nepal suffered an estimated loss of 17 billion Nepalese rupees.

Mount Everest continued to draw global attention with 291 foreigners and 473 Nepalese, including Sherpas, making it to the 8,849-metre peak.

Nepal’s veteran mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa, 55, created history in May by scaling the world’s highest peak for the 30th time. Purnima Shrestha became the first person to summit Everest three times in a single climbing season while yet another Nepalese, Phunjo Lama, became the fastest, climbing it in 14 hours 31 minutes.

The rush to climb Everest generates its own set of problems for the fragile region. The army held a two month campaign to remove 11,000 kilos of waste from the area. It also brought down five bodies of climbers who had died on the mountain’s slopes.

Nepal is setting itself up as an LGBTQ-friendly destination, and has held events promoting “Pink Tourism.” This is after Anju Devi Shrestha, 33, and Suprita Gurung, 33, became the first lesbian Nepalese couple to get their marriage registered at a local municipality.