Prachanda offers chief’s post, Baidhya seeks concrete course of action
- Prachanda, according to the source, has told Baidhya he has no objection even if the latter becomes the chief of the united party. Baidhya, on the other hand, has told Prachanda to fix politics first, adding he will have no objection even if Prachanda holds the mantle.
- The two sides are yet to reach an understanding on some political issues that Baidhya has raised.
- Leaders from both the sides agree that the two parties should unite sooner than later in view of possible conspiracies to botch the unity.
The Prachanda-led UCPN-Maoist and Mohan Baidhya-led CPN-Revolutionary-Maoist have been holding a series of talks aimed at uniting the two parties. Prachanda seems willing to hand over the post to his political guru Baidhya. But the post is not what Baidhya wants, it appears. His stress is on political course of action that will take the united party forward.
As part of talks aimed at uniting the two parties, Baidhya and Prachanda held discussions three days ago. There was a plan to unite the parties on Jana Yuddha Divas — the day the Maoists launched a people’s war on February 13, 1996 — on Falgun 1 (February 13, 2016), but the unity will have to wait for some more weeks due to time constraints, according to leaders. Nonetheless, according to a source, leaders are making preparations to use the occasion to drive home the message of unity.
The source, informing about the plan to bring the two Maoist parties together, said: Secretariat-level talks are underway. The UCPN-Maoist has entrusted Prachanda and Krishna Bahadur Mahara with the talks, while the Baidhya group has assigned Mohan Baidhya and Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’. On Falgun 1, the source told Onlinekhabar, both the sides may declare the formation of a committee or a taskforce (for unity).
What matters: Post or course of action?
Prachanda, according to the source, has told Baidhya he has no objection even if the latter becomes the chief of the united party. Baidhya, on the other hand, has told Prachanda to fix politics first, adding he will have no objection even if Prachanda holds the mantle.
According to a leader from the Baidhya camp, unity of the two parties appears very much possible with Prachanda and Baidhya agreeing on the issue of leadership. Still, the two sides are yet to reach an understanding on some political issues that Baidhya has raised. Now that Baburam Bhattarai, then UCPN-Maoist vice-chair, has already left the party, there will be no problem in (reconstituting) second and third rungs of the party leadership, according to the source. If Prachanda assumes the post of the party chair, Mohan Baidhya is likely to hold the position of a senior leader, above Narayan Kaji Shrestha in the party rank.
And if Baidhya becomes party chief, Prachanda will assume the role of senior leader and Shrestha will become a senior vice-chair. In that case, according to the source, either Mahara or Badal is likely to become another vice-chair.
For the post of vice-chair and general secretary, there will, most likely, be two candidates: Mahara and Badal (not necessarily in that order).
Giri Raj Mani Pokharel, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Barsha Man Pun and Dev Gurung are likely candidates for the post of party secretary. After unity, the united party will constitute a general convention organising committee, the source said. This means the united party can be run by selecting the party chief or coordinator till the GC (instead of going for an elaborate team of office-bearers), according to the source. For example, after unity with the Pari Thapa group, there’s no office-bearer in the Mohan Baidhya group.
Outstanding issues
Asked what Baidhya meant by asking Prachanda to fix politics first, a leader from the Baidhya group told Onlinekhabar Baidhya was referring to these issues:
- One: First, there has to be a clarity on the nature of the Nepali society? Is it capitalist or feudal? The Baidhya group has demanded that the party present its viewpoint on this.
- Two: Baidhya Maoists say the present state is comprador capitalist and bureaucratic. Whereas the Prachanda camp says the party has already shouldered the workload of the capitalistic people’s revolution.
- Three: How to interpret the constitution that the Constituent Assembly has promulgated? Is it pro-people or reactionary? Baidhya has asked Prachanda to build an understanding on this.
- Four: What will be the form of the next revolution? After clarifying these issues, there’s a need to come up with clarity on the course of the next revolution.
After sorting out these issues, issues related to the party organisation and leadership will resolve immediately and the two parties will unite, the source said.
Leaders from both the sides agree that the two parties should unite sooner than later in view of possible conspiracies to botch the unity, the source said. “Baidhyaji and Badalji have called for an early unity. At present, the unity is both a necessity and compulsion for both the parties, the source said.
