Kathmandu, Oct. 27 -- After a poor showing in the March 5 House of Representatives election, CPN-UML chair KP Oli and Nepali Communist Party (NCP) coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal have begun preparations to extend their alliance in provincial governments to the local and provincial elections next year. The NCP, formed last year in the aftermath of the Gen Z movement, is an amalgam of Dahal's CPN (Maoist Centre) and several other leftist parties.

The two parties, which have joined hands in five provinces, have informally instructed their lower-level committees to prepare a framework for electoral alliance. According to leaders, the objective behind the alliance is to prevent further erosion of left-wing votes and strengthen their political ...