ABSTRACT
The first four years of democracy in Nepal were a bitter disappointment to many of those who participated in the Jana Andolan. The Nepali Congress government of Girija Prasad Koirala was unable to deliver even a fraction of what was expected of it and was, instead, accused of gross incompetence. There was widespread criticism of the government’s alleged lack of direction and initiative. In the midst of a deteriorating economic situation, Koirala and his Cabinet lurched from one crisis to another. The government was attacked from all sides, the opposition resorted to agitation on the streets and Koirala came under siege from his own party. This intra-party feuding became so intense that it led, in July 1994, to the fall of the government. To the surprise of many political observers, the mid-term elections that followed resulted in the installation of a minority communist government.
