Nepal, Jan. 28 -- When forced to resign on September 9, 2025, with a metaphorical gun to his temple, the Khas-Arya chieftain Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli should have realised that his time was up and taken a graceful exit from mainstream politics. But Sharma Oli perhaps realised that dignity after retirement in the political life of Nepal is a rarity accorded only to a towering figure such as BP Koirala.

The father figure of communism, Pushpa Lal, died in self-exile. Ganeshman Singh and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai were forced to abandon the Nepali Congress. Manmohan Adhikari had to resign from a hospital bed. Sharma Oli managed to cling to his political perch-the chair of CPN-UML-even while his close collaborator and NC chair, Sher Bahadur Deub...