In 2016, Dahal and Oli were in a coalition government together, with a gentleman’s agreement to hand over power in due time. When Oli refused to allow Dahal to take over as prime minister, the latter joined hands with the Nepali Congress to register a vote of no confidence against Oli. Given this bad blood, it came as a surprise to most when the two rivals announced an electoral alliance for the 2017 elections, which they went on to sweep. A bigger surprise came in 2018 when the two announced a merger, forming the largest communist party Nepal has ever seen and giving Prime Minister Oli a comfortable two-thirds majority in Parliament. But things in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) have not been smooth, with the two co-chairs constantly jostling for power. Oli has maintained a firm grip on both the party and the government, much to Dahal’s chagrin. According to Bishnu Sapkota, press advisor to Co-chair Dahal, things would’ve progressed much faster within the party if Oli had let Dahal handle party matters. “The party was to complete all unification tasks before Dashain and then start a special campaign to energise the party committees, but things are not moving ahead,” said Sapkota. However, before leaving for medical treatment in Singapore for the second time in August, many had believed that there had been a thaw in relations. The co-chairs appeared to be on the same page regarding the appointment of leaderships to the various party departments and the elevation of Bamdev Gautam within the party. Before leaving, Oli had even allowed Dahal to chair party meetings, a first in the year-and-a-half since party unification.