China-friendly communist K.P. Sharma Oli appointed Nepal’s new prime minister after landmark polls
Oli’s left-wing alliance is considered to be closer to China while outgoing leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is widely seen as being closer to India
Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Thursday appointed moderate communist K.P. Sharma Oli, who led an alliance with former Maoist rebels to a sweeping victory in recent elections, as prime minister.
A presidential spokesman said Oli, who spent 14 years in jail for opposing the now-abolished monarchy in the 1970s and 1980s, was named prime minister hours after Sher Bahadur Deuba, whose party suffered a landslide defeat in the polls, resigned.
Oli was also prime minister from 2015 to 2016, soon after the nation’s current constitution was formalised.
Oli’s left-wing alliance is considered to be closer to China while outgoing leader Deuba is widely seen as being closer to India.
The two Asian giants have poured aid and investment to woo Nepal, home to Mount Everest, as a geo-political ally.
“Oli is going to be pragmatic as prime minister to balance India and China,” said Kunda Dixit, editor of the weekly Nepali Times.