In a surprise move, Nepal's King Gyanendra announced on state television last Friday night that he was removing the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for incompetence in holding polls scheduled for Nov 13.

He then postponed the polls indefinitely, assumed total executive powers and promised to transfer power to a new government to be formed within five days.

This government would be tasked with holding free and fair elections at the earliest, the monarch announced.

The move has been roundly denounced by almost all of Nepal's political parties. Deuba's Nepali Congress (Democratic) termed the king's actions "unconstitutional and undemocratic''.

Support for king

Similar strong language was used by the Nepali Congress the party which Deuba split from early this year and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), the largest communist group in Nepal.

But, contrary to the expectations of political parties, the citizens of this Himalayan nation have not come out in support of the ousted government.

Instead, civic groups and business groups have said the king's actions are needed right the ills bedevilling this nation.

"The king did the right thing," said Rabi Bhakta Shrestha, president of the trade lobby Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. "This country needs stable leadership, not the political infighting that was the norm for so long."

There has been sporadic outpouring of support for the king on the streets of Kathmandu. Small groups of men and women have undertaken processions praising the king and denouncing the politicians.

Counter-demonstrations against the monarch have also been held, but they are few and far between.

The mood is summed up by Kailash Sharma, a vegetable vendor in the capital's Baneshwar suburb: "We don't know whether the king did the right or wrong thing. But we do know that it was needed to teach the politicians a lesson."

Such utter lack of support for political parties and their leaders have emboldened the monarchists, who now see a return to the days of absolute monarchy in pre-1990 Nepal.

But analysts warn that the lack of support for the politicians is a mere reflection of frustrations with corruption, inefficiency and escalating Maoist rebel violence, not a rejection of multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy.

Public mood

Nepal reverted to parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy in 1990 after a violent people's movement curtailed the absolute powers of the king.

"The people were just fed up with the bad ways of the politicians. They were discredited and therefore there is not much support for them right now," said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of the Kantipur newspaper.

''But this does not mean that the people have rejected constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The public mood should not be misjudged.''

So far, King Gyanendra appears to have read the public mood correctly.

He has announced that he does not intend to hold on to executive powers beyond the promised five days &3821 which ends today and intends to hand over authority to a government comprising clean politicians recommended by political parties.

But political parties remain suspicious. They see in the king a new sort of a monarch who does not hesitate to speak his mind and even take drastic actions, as these past few days have proved.

"What the king did was unconstitutional," said sacked Prime Minister Deuba. "The constitution does not give him the right to sack an elected prime minister. Only parliament can do that."

Deuba has appealed for support from all political parties, but there has not been much support for him apart from the cursory statements they issued.

Political parties cannot even agree to sit down together to hammer out a new strategy. Attempts to convene an all-party meeting have failed on two occasions in the past two days, and a third attempt is underway.

Possible confrontation

Although things in Nepal appear calm at present, a confrontation could yet be developing between the monarch and the major political parties.

During meetings with political leaders in the past two days, King Gyanendra has indicated that he wants his representatives included in any new interim government he plans to form by today.

The major parties want the king to form an all-party government that includes representation from only the parties represented in the dissolved parliament.

However, the third largest party, the rightist National Democratic Party, is even open to the idea of forming a government which includes the king's nominees.

"There are indications that this could be a major bone of contention within coming days," said political commentator Narayan Wagle.

"The major parties may refuse to participate in a government that has the king's representatives, hamstringing the efforts to build a new government."

Difficult road ahead

Only once before has Nepal had such a situation.

In December 1960, the present king's father sacked the elected government, imprisoned all the leaders, banned political parties, and ushered in three decades of absolute rule that was only overthrown in 1990.

Many Nepalis hope that the present king does not succumb to such temptation again.

So far, the constitution has not been suspended, and none of the political parties or leaders have been banned or arrested. Newspapers are allowed to debate the political impasse freely, and even counter-demonstrations against the king have been allowed.

Many are keeping an eye over the king's actions in the coming days, especially if he exercises executive power beyond the promised five days.

However else the political issues are resolved in the coming days, one thing is certain: the new interim government will find it difficult to hold elections without first dealing with the Maoist situation.

The Maoist rebels, who have been demanding a republican state since 1996, have denounced the king's actions but are largely keeping quiet at the moment.

"Without solving the Maoist question, no government is going to find it easy to conduct polls or even run the country," said veteran leftist leader Narayan Man Bijukchhe. "I have urged the king to give this thought." IPS