Nepal has been in turmoil ever since President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives in December last year on the recommendation of the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Though the Supreme Court had restored the House in February this year, the defiant President dissolved it in May — again as recommended by Oli — and announced snap polls in November. Now, following another intervention by the apex court, Sher Bahadur Deuba has taken charge as the PM. On Monday, a five-member Constitutional Bench rightly pronounced that the President’s decision to dissolve the House was an unconstitutional act.

Despite the change of guard, political stability may remain elusive in Nepal in view of the intense power tussle that has been going on even amid the Covid pandemic. As per constitutional provisions, Deuba has to prove his majority in the 275-member House of Representatives within 30 days of his appointment as the PM. Though he has been at the helm four times previously, Deuba’s governance record is patchy. He faces the onerous task of containing the Covid crisis, primarily by ramping up vaccine coverage. Though Nepal is not among the worst-hit countries, having recorded around 6.5 lakh coronavirus cases and over 9,400 deaths so far, its number of cases and deaths per million population is alarmingly similar to that of India.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was the first foreign leader who called up Deuba and congratulated him on his appointment as the Prime Minister. India should find it easier to deal with Deuba compared to Oli, who has made no secret of his pro-China leanings. Oli has also not shied away from riling India with ‘unjustified cartographic assertions’ in a bid to whip up nationalistic frenzy. Though New Delhi doesn’t want to meddle in Kathmandu’s internal affairs, it should spare no effort in helping the neighbour fight the pandemic and recover on the economic front. How the veteran Deuba handles an overbearing China and prepares his country for the General Elections — provided he stays the course — will be keenly watched.