Nepal, Feb. 5 -- The independent voter! That bane of psephologists, the fence-sitter, the one who does not know whether they are coming or going, and with that metaphorical smirk that keeps everyone guessing. That is what I used to think of this tribe until I went over my own record to realise, I was squarely one of them.

My frustration with the unaffiliated voter, of course, has to do with countries where electoral surveys take place periodically, usually the more mature democracies. Thus, for instance, in the context of the West, I would often wonder why these people could not take a stand, either for the left or the right. Especially when the contrast between the two sides has always been quite stark. Granted that the equation has fli...