
Splits within Nepal's communist-dominated coalition plunged the Himalayan nation into crisis on Monday as a Marxist-Leninist party said it would withdraw support after the Maoist prime minister backed an opposition candidate for the presidency.
Nestled between China and India, Nepal has had 11 governments since it abolished its 239-year monarchy in 2008 and became a republic. The current prime minister, a former Maoist guerrilla leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal has held the post three times.