Anarchists are, by definition, enemies of all institutions. If they join a government, the secret agenda usually is to wreck it from within. The decision of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to quit the interim government confirms this yet again. According to the party’s convoluted logic, joining a multi-party government was as much a part of the class struggle as the guerrilla war that it had fought in the jungles for 13 long years. There is enough reason to suspect that it would have used any pretext to quit the government. This is not to dispute the merit in its demand for a republican Nepal. The monarchy is not only an anachronism, but also a threat to democracy. Almost all political parties, including the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), have pledged themselves to republicanism. But an elected constituent assembly would be the right forum to make the historic declaration. Also, the ethnic violence in the Terai region should suggest that there is a strong case for adequate representation of the ethnic groups in any future parliament in Nepal. It would be simplistic to assume, however, that the Maoists quit the government because the prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, refused to accept these demands. Their aim is to emerge as the strongest voice for republicanism. And their plea for “proportional representation” reflects a strategy to woo ethnic groups.

Clearly, the Maoist betrayal has thrown up a challenge for the Nepalese polity. The challenge is not merely to Mr Koirala or to the other leaders of the democratic alliance. Although the Maoists’ action has put the elections to the constituent assembly under a cloud, the larger threat is to the future of democracy in Nepal. After more than a decade of violence and political instability, the country is at the threshold of a new political order. The elections to the constituent assembly are to be the first step toward establishing that order. The entire process may collapse if the Maoist design to disrupt the polls is allowed to succeed. Such an eventuality will only help the monarchists thwart Nepal’s republican hopes. The polls could mark a historic turning point insofar as they will be a referendum on republicanism. The Maoists too had contributed to this process. They would be political outcasts again if they now try to sabotage it.