Kathmandu, Feb. 18 -- The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has by now squandered the overwhelming mandate it got in the 2017 elections to govern for five years, and its future now rests on an impending decision by the Supreme Court.

While the verdict could go either way, what is certain is that one of the two NCP factions is going to lose out.

Whether it will be the establishment faction led by Prime Minister K P Oli or the breakaway group headed by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, will be decided in the upcoming weeks. Oli's group is in government and says it is preparing for snap elections in April-May, while Dahal's supporters are in the streets demanding a reinstatement of the Lower House.

Both are trying to demonstrate their popular support by rent...