Luck continues to favor former rebels, the Maoists on the third day (Sunday 13 April) of continued vote-counting post Nepal’s recent historic election. This, in turn, lessens the chance of winning for Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's coalition government in Nepal. That the former Maoist guerrillas are heading for majority in a crucial election has come as a surprise not just to them, but to the whole world.

 

Till Sunday, the third day of the continued counting of votes in Nepal, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had acquired 68 of the 122 seats with the former ruling parties, Koirala's Nepali Congress (NC) having won only 21 seats. The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) had managed to win just 19 seats.

 

The UML was hard hit by its defeat because it lost its stronghold, the Kathmandu Valley where it had emerged victorious in the previous general election held in 1999. Furthermore, maximum UML ministers, past and present, fared unfavorably while its chief and among Nepal's top seven leaders, Madhav Kumar Nepal trailed debutant contenders in both the capital and Rautahat in the Terai.

 

Accepting responsibility for the misfortune, Madhav Kumar Nepal formally resigned as head of the party on Sunday. Nepal also said he was unsure about remaining in the ruling coalition despite Maoist chief Prachanda's declaration earlier that his party would work in co-operation with other parties and keep the alliance intact till a new constitution was written.