Nepal, May 7 -- Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli heads a party that still likes to call itself Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), better known by the acronym CPN (UML) rather than its official name. That's just as well, since the letter 'C' in the name of the party has begun to appear as if it stands for communalism rather than communism.

Leader of the main opposition in the Parliament is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who has continuously been the supremo of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) since its founding. The header of its website proclaims the Nepali equivalent of communist slogans "Workers of the world, unite!" and "Long live Marxism, Leninism and Maoism".

Despite two of the three biggest political part...