Nepal, April 23 -- When Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal kicked out Nepali Congress from his coalition and embraced the CPN-UML on March 4, many political pundits interpreted the development as a course correction by two communist leaders who had parted ways three years ago following bitter disputes.

The dramatic turn of events that led to the chairmen of the three communist parties-KP Sharma Oli of the CPN-UML, Dahal of the Maoist Centre and Madhav Kumar Nepal of the CPN (Unified Socialist)-coming together had many assume that the coalition was a prelude to communist unification.

The three leaders were in the Nepal Communist Party-formed after unifying the CPN-UML and Maoist Centre in 2018 following an electoral alliance in 2017. The ...