Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal could now get his government focus on real governance and delivery of public services. The initial three months of the new parliamentary cycle has been devoted to management of coalition-politics in the context of the contrasting backdrop of the hung-parliament, ambitions of leaders and varied experiments of picking up and dropping of partners in search of appropriate alliance. The newly reshuffled cabinet should bear in mind that it is already too late to concentrate on matters related to fulfillment of the mandate of 2022 general election. Result-oriented performance and service in the broad interest of people should now guide the ministry. The path forward does not, however, look comfortable because of self-centered politics of parties and members of parliament. The scenario that political parties exhibited in preferring one ministry to another during negotiations for reshuffle could not be termed pleasant. It simply indicates their lack of creativity, motivation and innovation in utilizing best the post of a parliamentarian. Moreover, the concept that one has to have a resourceful ministry or become a key-member of cabinet to perform better and produce great result is not right. In reality a parliamentarian could emerge as a great performer than a minister if he or she understands the real meaning of representing people and responding to their needs and aspirations. Members of parliament could do a lot to make the ministers accountable to the House and work out appropriate laws and policies for tackling problems people face day in and day out. They could be the driving force in making the government work in the best interest of the country and the people. Similarly assembly members could also do the same from their respective positions. Political parties should actually take initiative in making political leaders or workers – elected or nominated or others- to perform best from the point or post they are in. For this a sense of service-oriented politics should be developed and that is what political leaders are not interested in at the moment. But a change in this front is what Nepali politics requires for performance-oriented politics. The youths of all parties represented in the parliament should consider the service-oriented political culture as one urgent agenda for all parties in Nepal and work hard to restore it. If this is not done at this time there is a risk: the country’s politics would deteriorate to worse state of transactional politics and people will lose trust in politics and politicians. The same would first disable political parties and then be instrumental in disrupting the nation-building task.
