Recently, a word has gone viral in Nepali political circles. This word is still being used today. It is ‘populism’ or ‘popularity’. This word comes from the Latin ‘populus’, which means ‘people’ or ‘man’. Its origin is believed to be in the mid-eighteenth century or around 1858. The Narodnik movement that took place in the mid-eighteenth century to overthrow the Russian Tsarist ruler gave the word populism a political dimension. In Russia, ‘narod’ means people. However, it is believed that the political expansion of this word was done by the American People’s Party, which was founded in the United States in the 1890s. 

Monash University Australia Professor Benjamin Moffitt’s book ‘The Global Rise of Populism’ was published by Stanford University in 2016. At the time of publication of this book (2015-16), a polarization line was emerging in world politics, with Brexit in the UK, the rise of Donald Trump in the US, and the testing and growth of right-wing and left-wing forces in Europe and Latin America. Through this book, author Moffitt has described politics as glamour or style, the nuances of which are almost identical to those of Nepali political celebrities. Its melody is more in line with the way people dress, eat, walk, speak, or the overall populist image, etc. than with political content. 

Unseasonal trend

The elections in the country have already given a kind of clear mandate, now only the implementation of the manifesto promises remains. It is clear to everyone that the Nepali mainstream parties have almost closed the border. The socialist hat fits everyone, but the populist hat may not fit everyone. Everyone wants to be popular – like Balen, Ravi, and Gagan. Because the populism of the digital frame has made life screen-friendly. In a way, it is defined as a concept in the Nepali grassroots, which has developed a narrative to speak out against the ruling class and quickly solve the problems of the people. 

Therefore, it is necessary to find a solution to the unseasonal trend. For this, attention should be paid to institutional strength, policy-level political system, internal democracy in the party, and judicious use of social media. Such unseasonal and election-friendly populism does not seem to have had much impact on our development programs and strategies. However, there are many ambiguities at present. 

In the case of Nepal, it has been further influenced by Nepal's own political parties. However, at present, when the people do not accept cheap and populist slogans, the leaders are grumbling that this same populism has been used by others. The conscious and 'digitized' people are now able to easily assess this. Therefore, in the present time or in the future, populism may not be limited to waving the hands of Balen and rebelling against Gagan. 

Every election-friendly populism

Populism is not structurally seen as a factor of the political system. Nor is it a necessary component of the political system. However, it is certainly a catalyst that changes the ‘style’, strategy and pace of politics to a greater or lesser extent. Global examples of this are – the slogan of ‘take back control’ during Brexit in the UK in 2016, the Tea Party slogan during the first term of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the slogan of the person against the aristocracy of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 1990, the slogan of ‘Make America Great Again’ during the first presidential election of US President Donald Trump. This succeeded in spreading complex and crooked issues to the public in a small and clear way through the slogan of populist slogans. Brexit was successful on a populist basis, Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister three times with successful political influence, Hugo Chavez became the President of Venezuela four times, Donald Trump succeeded in becoming the President of the US again. 

Therefore, after successful efforts worldwide, it has been cleverly 'connected' to Nepal's elections, conventions and party systems in recent times. The results of this election seem to have given a similar impression. There is no example of populism dominating the Nepali electoral environment. However, the election results have made it clear that it has taken a turn in the current election. Because people are digital and want to be more. When the Balen factor became strong, the Ravi factor seemed to fade, in terms of populism.

Its lasting impact is seen when the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) itself starts to show ambivalence in decision-making based on the manifesto. Gagan is another character who could not be 'dismantled' immediately by the outgoing Deuba-oriented establishment. However, he has faded in the eyes of the people at present. However, this can also further support Gagan's populism. This is why Gagan became more of the Congressmen and less of the people. Another character, Mahesh Basnet, is a character who enjoys populism, who has become more and more faded in the beginning and in the present. 

Seeking only suitability in the digital age is also a kind of decline. There are two forms of decline, which carry the meaning of 'gradual and all at once'. The above examples confirm that most believers in populism have reached the state of 'all at once'. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the nature of the people rather than quantitative trends. 

In mathematics, there is a practice of binary equations. However, the equation of Nepali politics has deteriorated in the practice of becoming binary, triangular and multi-angular. Can the angles and equations no longer be meaningful? However, populism and neo-populism cannot be said to be immune to the winds of change now. 

The pitfalls and conclusions of compromise 

In management science, a unique but reliable cycle is studied - the product life cycle. It believes that the limit of the product or service produced depends on the conditions it is subjected to. In this cycle, the product reaches a descending stage through the initial stage, the growth stage, the adult stage. It is believed that the more trust or reputation a product gains in adulthood, the more sustainable that product is. And, based on this stage, the decline time is also determined. Now, when comparing Nepali populism with this production cycle, it is found that the people's trust in the existing Nepali parties that are suffering from a drought of trust is very low. Based on this, the lifespan of Nepali populist parties is determined. Therefore, populism should not be like a production cycle as mentioned above in the Nepali perspective.