Simmer in the geopolitical cauldron

For Indians, the Treaty of 1950 is the prime concern, everything else is optics.

In addition to being the undisputed supremo of the CPN-UML, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli is also the unquestioned chieftain of the dominant Khas-Arya community. His xenophobic, jingoistic and chauvinistic rhetoric is lapped up by the Nepali media with enthusiastic gusto. It was to burnish his nationalistic image that Sharma Oli chose to launch his election campaign from Darchula on the northwest frontier. The venue for his first election rally seems to have been chosen for its intrinsic propaganda value.