Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Monday summoned the House of Representatives on March 7, the first since the country’s Supreme Court nullified the earlier decision of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s government to dissolve the house. 

The president called the house after receiving the recommendation from the government. On February 24, the apex court had reinstated the lower house and ordered the government to call a session within 13 days. 

Oli, who has been facing pushback from the Dahal-Nepal faction of his own party, NCP, last year on 20 December had dissolved the house. The move was in response to the Dahal-Nepal faction of the NCP which was about to introduce a no-confidence against him. 

Now the house restored, the road ahead for Oli to remain in the prime minister won’t be smooth. The faction of NCP has the support of 83 MPs in Nepal while the rival Dahal-Nepal faction has 90 MPs in its favor. 

Both factions are holding talks with other political parties of the country, mainly the Janata Samajwadi Party and the Nepali Congress. The support of these two parties is crucial for either of the NCP factions to form a government.     

The 24 February judgment of restoring the lower house was nothing short of a big shocker to Oli. He had already gone on a campaign mode and was hoping to win a majority in the general elections then scheduled for April and May. For him, the immediate challenge now is to survive a no-confidence motion which the Dahal-Nepal faction is planning to bring in.