Situated between two Asian giants, India and China, Nepal’s political landscape has long been characterized by turbulence. But 2024 has been the epitome of this chronic instability, with a kaleidoscopic shift in alliances that has cast doubt on the country’s ability to implement long-overdue economic reforms. The year began with one ruling coalition, and by midsummer, a previously unthinkable one had emerged.

In March 2024, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known as “Prachanda,” the leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), made a dramatic political about-face. He broke his alliance with the country’s largest party, the Nepali Congress (NC), and formed a new left-wing coalition with his main opponent, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), or CPN-UML. This alliance, however, proved short-lived. Already in July, the political scene was transformed again. The two largest and historically hostile forces – the CPN-UML led by Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli and the Nepali Congress – agreed to form a “grand coalition”. This maneuver led to Prachanda’s resignation and KP Sharma Oli’s return to the prime minister’s post for the fourth time.