More than two months have passed since the constituent assembly failed to meet the constitution deadline.  Having extended the life of the CA, the major parties vowed to pump oxygen into the statute-making exercise. They have ended up in prolonging the life of a care taker government that can not take care of the day-to-day administration, let alone constitution making. As we went to the press, the legislative-parliament was about to go to the fifth round of elections for the prime minister. Four rounds of voting in a span of a month went in vain. The consensus mantra aside, there was little that saw agreement among the big parties. As Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Ram Chandra Poudel locked horns, Jhalanth found himself out of the ring. But if the former two would not give up, the latter had not lost hope yet. The seat of power was everyone’s priority, not the constitution. Small parties were no exception.  
Ideas and principles are something only fools and cowards talk about in these days of horse-trading and power-sharing in the New Nepal heralded by the 12-point Delhi agreement-triggered jana aandolan. So, the obvious question of many is: even if we have a new prime minister, a new government and a new constitution will it make any difference? Such frustration and loss of faith in future can be dangerous and disturbing.

Keshab Poudel
Editor