Maoist coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal and secretariat member Janardan Sharma have held a farewell meeting to bid farewell to their party life.

Dahal had called Sharma on Sunday to persuade him to take a different political path after the Maoists decided to unite with the CPN-UML and other small communist parties. The two leaders said ‘goodbye’ to each other after Sharma did not agree with his decision.

Sharma had said that he had come to meet him for a farewell meeting after uniting the Maoists with other parties. ‘You united the Maoists with Madhav Nepal’s party. I will leave with the Maoists alive. I will join the campaign for broad communist unity,’ Sharma had said, ‘We will meet on some occasion after broad unity.’

During the meeting, Dahal assured Sharma that he would hand over the leadership at the general convention to be held after the party unification, but Sharma did not believe him. ‘The central committee decided to hold two special general conventions. You have been avoiding it on various pretexts,’ he said, ‘It is not possible to believe that you will hold a general convention and hand over the leadership.’

The conversation did not stop there. Sharma accused Dahal of betraying him recently, even though he had accepted Dahal's leadership and considered him a leader. 'I have been voting for party formation. I have nothing personal to do with you,' he added, 'I have not taken political issues personally.' During the meeting, Sharma recalled the collaboration with Dahal since the 2046 People's Movement, ten years of armed war, the peace process, and the constitution-making. 'You and I have had such a long collaboration. I have considered you a leader. Now you have reconciled the Maoists with others,' he said, 'I will remain a Maoist.'

Dahal and Sharma met in Rukum in 2042 BS. At that time, Dahal's party was named 'Biswas', while Sharma's was named 'Prabhakar'. Dahal was the 'Supreme' commander of the ten-year Maoist armed war, while Sharma was one of the four 'Deputy Commanders'. After the peace process in 2064 BS, all the leaders, including Dahal, went public. Sharma also entered open politics. He closely supported party chief Dahal in the integration of combatants in the Nepali Army, the peace process, and the constitution-making process. He had the status of reaching Dahal's 'bedroom' and giving him suggestions and advice. Dahal also trusted him and gave him important responsibilities. Sharma became an important minister on behalf of the party several times.

Sharma was also a witness to the UML-Maoist electoral alliance in 2074 and then the party unity. His role in the unity process was important. However, due to the power struggle between the then Nepal Communist Party chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the unity did not last long. While the internal conflict was raging, on 23 Falgun 2077, the Supreme Court separated the UML and the Maoists in a case, saying that the Nepal Communist Party was registered in someone else's name.

Leaders say that the seeds of distrust between Dahal and Sharma were sown since the eighth general convention held in Poush 2078. Sharma and Barshaman were once again aspirants for the post of general secretary in the general convention. After both Dahal's confidants Sharma and Pun claimed the post of general secretary, Dahal selected Dev Gurung as the general secretary. Sharma and Pun were made deputy general secretaries. After that, Sharma, who became dissatisfied, started demanding internal democracy and leadership transfer in the party. Which demand Dahal had been taking as a challenge to himself. The distrust between them gradually increased.

In the standing committee meeting held in Shrawan 2081, Deputy General Secretary Sharma submitted a 14-page long written dissenting opinion, challenging Dahal's leadership, and the relationship between the two leaders became even colder. Sharma had argued that the system in the party was not democratic, that leadership should be transferred, and that the ideological policy should be clear. After that, Dahal stopped inviting Sharma to important discussions and meetings.

It is not that there were no attempts to improve relations between the two leaders. However, again in Baisakh 2082, when the Mid-Hill Highway-focused campaign reached Rukum West, in the first week of Jestha, Dahal became angry when he said, "The party will not lose its way if some people lose their way." He demanded a serious review, saying that Dahal was asked to leave the party when he was leaving Rukum. "I was asked to leave the party many times. I kept saying that we should stay in the party and form a party, but it was not listened to," Sharma said.