Amid growing differences between ruling partners Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, the top brass of both parties on Friday spoke for the continuation of the present coalition.

As differences between the two parties grow and leader of the main opposition and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has publicly announced that he would support Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba to lead the next government by unseating KP Sharma Oli as prime minister, both Oli and Deuba have reaffirmed their commitment to the current coalition.

After spending six days in Bangkok, Deuba returned on Friday, but speculation and rumours were swirling in Kathmandu’s political circles the entire week.

Speaking to journalists upon his arrival from Bangkok, Deuba dismissed any possibility of a government change. But, according to some Congress leaders, the party faces increasing uneasiness with the working style of Prime Minister Oli.

The delay in the appointment of Nepal Rastra Bank governor, the resignation of Bidya Bhattarai as education minister, and the government’s failure to address the demands of public school teachers and the ongoing agitation of civil servants, doctors, and cooperatives victims have made it difficult for the leadership of Congress, the key ruling partner, to face the public.

There is no problem in the coalition, said Deuba, who also spoke with Oli over the phone from Bangkok. “Our alliance is intact and it is not going to change.”

While he was away, some of Deuba’s trusted lieutenants either expressed serious reservations over the government’s performance or held back-channel negotiations with CPN (Maoist Centre) leaders.

Speculations of a government change ballooned after Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal briefed a party meeting that he will discuss the issue with Deuba once he returns from Bangkok arguing that the government has failed on multiple fronts.

But one thing is true, a Nepali Congress leader said, the second-rung leaders of the Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre have expedited back-channel talks, which has caught the attention of Oli’s UML.

No definite conclusion has been reached but the evolving situations appear to be pushing the Congesss and the Maoist party to come together, according to the leaders.

But still, a Congress leader said that Deuba still does not trust Dahal, who has shifted his support between both Oli and Deuba in government formation after the 2022 elections.

Therefore, Deuba is cautiously approaching the agenda, said the Congress leader who is familiar with the goings-on in Kathmandu’s power corridors.

After Dahal’s statement that he will speak with Deuba on government change once he returns from Bangkok, Oli, who became suspicious after statements by some Congress leaders unsupportive of him, checked with Deuba on Thursday to ascertain that the Congress chief is committed to the current coalition.

But sources in the Maoist party said that Dahal is planning to meet Deuba soon.

Almost all Maoist leaders, on a daily basis, are making statements that the Oli government will collapse under the weight of its own failures.

They also send messages that they are ready to extend full support to Deuba to become the prime minister. However, within the Maoists, leaders such as General Secretary Dev Gurung have publicly said that for the sake of political stability, the Oli government should complete its term, until July 2026.

After media reports based on the political speculations in Kathmandu, Oli on Thursday telephoned Deuba and discussed the matter in detail, said Foreign Minister Arzu Deuba, who accompanied the Congress chief and her husband to Bangkok.

“There is no chance of a government change. For entertainment per se, someone is peddling this rumor. On this, yesterday evening the prime minister also called the president [Deuba] and talked in length,” said the foreign minister.

While the Congress president went to Bangkok for a regular health checkup, the foreign minister participated in the 81st session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The minister ruled out the possibility of a change in this coalition government.

Influential Congress leaders such as Gagan Thapa, Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Shekhar Koirala have been criticising the government’s working style, and growing dissatisfaction and anger in the public against the administration.

Talking to mediapersons at Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday, the minister clarified that the Congress president visited Bangkok for regular health checkup, not any political dealings. Some media reports suggested that Deuba held meetings with the interlocutors of “external forces” as well as a businessman close to Dahal.

After talking with Deuba, Oli also seemed confident that he would hand over the baton to Deuba after 14 months as agreed by the two parties while forming the government in July last year.

“I will resign after 14 months and hand over the premiership to Deuba,” Oli told reporters after attending a meeting in the House of Representatives.

During her visit to Bangkok where she got elected as chair of the ESCAP's 81st session, Minister Deuba held bilateral meetings with diplomats and delegates, discussing key issues faced by the participating countries. She also chaired a special meeting of the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, highlighting Nepal's role on international forums.