Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal lived in seclusion directing Nepal's guerrilla war but emerged from the jungle to lead the Himalayan republic when his cadres laid down their arms and joined mainstream politics.

Still widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda ("The Fierce One"), Dahal on Friday lost a parliamentary vote of confidence that will force him to relinquish the nation's revolving door premiership for the third time.