By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel Politics is not a dirty game in itself.  But, it is a game played by politicians who are clever, manipulators and selfish with greed for power and dominance. As a result, politics become filthy. And it is an open secret that Nepal’s politics is dirtier, as compared to our neighbouring nations because we are endowed with selfish, self-centred, unaccountable, unpredictable and immoral politicians. This is manifested in recent political development in which two bed-fellows, Baburam Bhattarai and Upendra Yadav, decided to part their ways three years after their union as discord reaches the tipping point. Bhattarai and Yadav were fundamentally dissimilar with different political ideologies. In short, they were like cheese and chalk which has completely different composition and functions. Despite these differences, the duo came up with a decision to merge their parties thinking they can get along. After divorcing communism Bhattarai was leading a Naya Shakti which was just three years old while Upendra Yadav who had led various parties with different names, was the chair of the Sanghiya Samajwadi Forum - Nepal. Both political careers seemed vulnerable and were seeking some help to safeguard them. To help their sinking political career, they announced Samajbadi Party Nepal amidst a big fanfare. Their goal was to build a national-level political force that could become an alternative to mainstream traditional communist parties and Nepali Congress. The formation of the Samajbadi Party in May 2019 was not an unexpected affair. It did not create any uproar in the political grapevine. Its merger was very obvious as the then situation had necessitated the union. According to political observers, Bhattrai was struggling with internal dissent and discord to run the party. He needed a piggyback ride to safeguard his declining political career. On the other hand, Yadav too was passing through a tough time as internal leaders were expressing dissatisfaction over his way of running the party. Yadav assumed that he could use Bhattarai as a face to transform his party into a national political force. When the Samajbadi Party was formed, there was a euphoria among the people that the merger will offer them an alternative to challenge the status quo. They believed that Bhattrai, with his academic background and immense social capital, and Yadav with his strong grip among the Madhesi will be a party to reckon with. But, sadly, the merger turned out to be a paper tiger with no essence. As has been the case, the merger of any parties in Nepal has not been able to last long. Samjabadi Party was not an exception. In the initial days of its formation, the party was functioning smoothly.  However, the party started to witness the fissures soon after the just concluded local election. Its performance in the local election was very poor. Yadav had expected that Baburam could use his social capital and name as a public intellectual to woo the hill voters ensuring a convincing position for the party in the local election. On the other hand, Bhattrai also harboured similar expectations. Unfortunately, both failed in their respective constituencies. Consequently, they decided to part ways. Political observers say two leaders have partnered longer than many expected and the split was inevitable sooner or later. The analysts who have been closely observing the politics of Bhattrai and Yadav prophesied the future of the merger of Naya Shakti and Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal. The saying, “the two swords cannot fit in one sheath” has once again been aptly proved correct by our politicians. It is really very frustrating and shameful to note that leaders merge their parties when they see themselves politically vulnerable. It is also very disgusting to see the leaders have not been able to rise above their partisan interests. In simple words, they do not merge for the broader interest of the nation and its people. Instead, it is their vested interest that forced them to merge and dismantle it if their objectives are not met. More than three decades have passed since we restored democracy in 1990. Within this period, we have not been able to make any substantial changes in terms of the mentality, character and behaviour of our politicians. Our politicians are still self-centred and passionate about power and position. They do not care about the day-to-day problems of the people who have been impatiently waiting for better days to arrive. They intend to safeguard their political career no matter how it comes. If the leaders see the merger as a rescue to their declining political career and not as a genuine effort to serve the people, the political instability will continue and thrive laying the ground for resentment among the people.