The split in the Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal (JSP-Nepal) on Sunday continues to send ripple effects through Nepali politics. Ashok Rai and six other lawmakers of the party took the initiative to form a new party by rebelling against Chairman Upendra Yadav while he was on a foreign tour. Factions, splits, and divisions are regular occurrences within political parties in Nepal.

Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, the Union Territories bifurcated from the legacy border State of J&K, are among the few States/UTs where polling is taking place across many phases. The constituencies in Jammu have already voted in the first and second phases while elections have been postponed from the third to the sixth phase in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.

The national census conducted in 2021 shows that the population of Nepal is little over 29 million, with women constituting over 51 percent. The constitution mentions that every agency of the country will be proportional and inclusive.

The rationale against surpassing the NPC's ceiling is twofold. Firstly, an inflated budget poses risks to the country's economic stability by allocating resources towards potentially unproductive sectors. Furthermore, the prospect of escalating tax rates to meet revenue targets adds to the burden borne by Nepali citizens, who are already among the most heavily taxed in the region. Secondly, surpassing the national revenue with an inflated budget inevitably amplifies the nation's debt burden, compelling the government to seek additional loans either domestically or internationally. Presently, Nepal grapples with a staggering debt burden, standing at Rs 1.2 trillion in domestic loans and Rs 1.2 trillion in foreign loans, already disproportionate to its revenue.

THE PTI claims to have “all the evidence” against what it asserts was a rigged election this February. The party has released a “white paper” alleging widespread electoral manipulations, specifically the fudging of Form-47, which consolidates polling data. The document highlights discrepancies between preliminary results on Form 45, which showed PTI leading, and the final results on Form 47, prepared without PTI representatives in breach of electoral laws.

It is absolutely unacceptable for the subscribers to bear the brunt of the failure of ISPs to settle their tax liabilities.

The crackdown on farmers protesting in Lahore and several other cities against the government’s ‘flawed’ wheat procurement policy and delays in the commencement of the grain’s official purchases in Punjab is deplorable.

The continued incarceration of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the midst of a general election highlights the hard political realities that seem to determine which leader gets prosecuted or arrested on allegations of corruption. Over the decades, it has become clear that only an unfriendly regime usually pursues charges against key political rivals; and that the status of relations between the party that runs the government of the day and those facing such charges dictates the course of action for supposedly independent agencies.

The elections held last Saturday in Bajhang for a provincial assembly member and a federal parliamentarian in Ilam have helped to understand where the country's political winds are blowing. The results of this election have also answered the question of which party, ideology, or leader the voters favor, or how much they dislike politics.

The curtains have been drawn on the two-day Nepal Investment Summit 2024, marking the conclusion of a significant event in the country's endeavor to bring in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for its prosperity. According to Sushil Bhatt, CEO of Investment Board Nepal, the summit garnered overwhelming interest from global business entrepreneurs and investors, with over 2500 attendees, including more than 800 international guests. Under the theme "Emerging Nepal," the summit successfully showcased Nepal as an attractive investment destination, highlighting priority projects in sectors such as Energy, ICT, Tourism, and Infrastructure.