Narayan Upadhyay

When the newly unified Nepal Communist Party (NCP) garnered a near two-third majority in the general elections held three years ago, one thing that crossed the mind of many in the country was- the new NCP government would without a doubt bring stability to the nation's politics. The two communist parties- the then CPN (UML) and the Maoist (Centre)- had forged unity and contested the general elections on a stability plank, among others.

Stability for three years
With NCP winning with a whopping margin, the KP Sharma Oli-led government has indeed brought much sought-after stability the country's politics and other spheres. The years before the Oli government were marked by instability, as governments came and went in quick succession, leaving no discernible imprint in the nation's development agenda.
After the successful culmination of the 2007 uprising and the formation of the Constituent Assembly, the political parties started harbouring differences on many pressing issues of the time. In the meantime, they were engaged in toppling and forming governments, which only intensified political uncertainty and insecurity.
During eight years of first and second CA, the country witnessed the governments of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prachanda, Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal, Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai, besides the government under the chair of the then incumbent Chief Justice, Khil Raj Regmi.
Following the second election to the CA, at least four governments, each led by Sushil Koirala, KP Sharma Oli, Prachand and Sher Bahadur Deuba were formed before the general election of 2017 that saw the newly unified NCP winning a thumping majority in the House of Representatives. 
No denying then, the progress of the nation and welfare of the people earned less importance during these most trying years when the then political parties clashed over the issues of state delineation, priorities based on ethnicity, the peace process, citizenship issues, among other pressing issues.
One of the significant features of the present authority that enjoyed a strong majority in both Houses of the parliament is- it remained stable throughout these three years, allowing it to drive forward the development of other welfare programmes in the country.
The strength and determination of the government are the reasons that prompted it to come out with an extremely pertinent slogan, Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepali.
One of the key accomplishments of the PM Oli is his government has bolstered federalism and facilitated the devolution of power to the local levels. The provincial governments have received a much-needed fillip from the strong central government for initiating and implementing various projects and to ensure the welfare of the people in their respective provinces.
To achieve this goal, a handsome amount of budget (about 30 per cent of the national budget) has been apportioned to the state governments. Since six out of seven state governments have belonged to the ruling NCP party, the government and the provincial authorities have found it easy to carry forward their programmes aimed at the people’s empowering and benefits.

Efficient performance
During three years, the Oli government has performed and functioned efficiently to deliver the fruit of progress. The much-needed political stability has allowed the authority to bring forth its desired results in development arenas.
The nation has obtained an economic growth of over 8 per cent before the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. From constructing massive road and highway networks to the launching of railway services, waterways, construction of bridges across the nation, the present government has produced emphatic results during three years. Besides, it has involved in setting up big hydropower projects and electrification of many urban and rural parts.
With political strength at its disposal, the government has dealt its foreign affairs programmes with new determination. The nation and the people applauded and endorsed the Oli government after it staked the nation's claim on its 'lost' territory of Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura and others, which India has either taken over or occupied.
To protect the country’s boundary next to India and China, the government has set up many border outposts manned by Nepali security personnel. It has constructed over 1000 lost or disappeared border pillars along the Nepal-India border.
PM Oli in the meantime made a praiseworthy statement- the size and shape of a nation do not matter when it comes to respecting a nation’s sovereignty, and every nation, no matter how big or small it is, stands on the same pedestal. Many in the country and outside backed and endorsed the statement.
These acts and statements have heightened his image of this government in the national and international arenas. 
Besides resetting its warm relationship with its immediate neighbour India, the present government handled its geopolitics astutely by giving vibrancy to its relation with the northern neighbour.
The cordial relationship between Nepal and China further consolidated after Chinese President paid an official visit to Nepal in October 2019 and vowed to extend help to his nation's small Himalayan neighbour. As this was the first visit by any Chinese president since President Jiang Zemin visit to Nepal in 1996, we must praise our government for convincing the Chinese side to make the President’s visit a reality.

Testing time
Despite all success,  the past year proved the most testing period for the government owing to the emergence of COVID-19. The authority responded swiftly and mobilised all required resources to fight the scourge. It worked on a war-footing to set up health quarantines, special COVID hospitals, health centres, mobilised health workers, set up test facilities across the country and imported required medicines and health equipment.
Now, the authority has imported vaccines to end the virus menace and bring the nation and its economy back on the right track. Some bureaucratic bunglings apart, the government has prevailed in its struggle against the virus, thanks to its concerted efforts. The battle against the dreaded disease became possible because the government has basked in a stable political environment.
One could only imagine what would have happened to the nation's battle against the pandemic and other gaping problems, had this government lacked a thumping majority and subsequent political stability.
In a nation where petty, selfish and partisan issues drive our political parties and leaders, the government has accomplished many milestones during the past three years. If allowed to operate smoothly, it will take the nation to a newer height of economic progress. Political stability has indeed played a significant part for this government to taste success in these three years.

 (Upadhyay is Deputy Executive Editor at TRN)