Amid the failure to finalise a power sharing deal with the Maoists, whose support was crucial in fulfilling his aspirations, Jhalanath Khanal today was unable to announce a new cabinet.
Veteran Communist leader Jhalanath Khanal, who was today sworn in as Nepal's new prime minister after a seven-month deadlock, faces a Himalayan challenge to conclude the stalled peace process and draft a fresh constitution for the young republic.
Amid the failure to finalise a power sharing deal with the Maoists, whose support was crucial in fulfilling his aspirations, Khanal today was unable to announce a new cabinet.
Even as the veteran Communist leader has been well served by his advocacy to include the Maoists in mainstream politics, he now faces the challenge of carrying along the Nepali Congress, the second largest party in the House set to be the main opposition party.
The Sixty-one-year-old former science teacher is a life-long communist who played a key role in the struggle to restore democracy in the country, spending several years underground.
Khanal's willingness to engage with the Maoists, who emerged as the single largest party in the 2008 polls, put him at odds with many senior members of his party, but ultimately paid off when he won the support of the ultra-leftists in the prime ministerial vote.
He has underlined the need to involve the former rebels, who fought a decade-long war against the state before signing a 2006 peace deal and entering mainstream politics.
"Meaningful Maoist participation in the new government is essential to deliver peace," Khanal said earlier. "(We should) be ready to accept the leadership of whoever succeeds in bringing them on board."
He was a founding member of the leftist UML (Unified Marxist Leninist) party, which has its origins in the communist movement that has strong roots in rural Nepal.
Khanal is an experienced politician, having served as a minister in two previous governments and became chairman of the CPN-UML in 2009 after the defeat of top Communist leaders in the 2008 elections.
According to experts, Khanal has a reputation for "being clean" and principled in his approach to politics.
A senior analysts described Khanal as an "independent thinker".
Amid the standoff in the formation of a new government, Khanal had to bear the brunt of the mounting frustration in the country. He was slapped by one of his former cadres at a party programme in rural Nepal last month.
Khanal was minister for agriculture, land reform and environment during the Interim government in 1990 and Minister for Information and Communication during coalition government in 1997.
He became founding member of National Coordination Committee for All Communist Revolutionaries of Nepal. Khanal is close to the Maoists and regarded as hardliner leader of the party unlike outgoing Prime Minister Madhav Nepal who is regarded as moderate communist leader.
During the earlier election process, he quit the race in favour of Prachanda, but the idea was opposed by a section of the party which decided to remain neutral during the series of run-off polls.
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