Researcher Prem Darshan Sapkota says, ”Dahal is a leader who can do anything to maintain his relevance. He has the quality of being able to easily get along with anyone to remain relevant.”
What you should know
The 'Nepali Communist Party' was formed by 13 components including the Maoist Center, the Unified Socialist Party of Nepal, and the Motherland Movement Nepal, but the united party could not remain intact.
NCP coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal has continued to unite other parties despite 'splitting' them. The latest example of this is the split in the Janata Samajwadi Party, where Ashok Rai is the executive chairman. On Sunday, 6 leaders including JSP federal chairman Rajendra Shrestha decided to merge with the NCP.
A unity was formed between 12 constituents including the Maoists and the Unified Socialists. Among the parties that came together, the Unified Socialists and the Nepal Communist Party split. Three factions were seen in the Unified Socialists. Under the leadership of chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal, the majority joined the Maoists. Vice-chairman Ghanendra Basnet, general secretary Ghanshyam Bhusal, deputy general secretary Bijay Poudel and other leaders have left the party saying that they will reorganize the party and unite the larger left. Another faction led by Ram Kumari Jhankri and Kisan Shrestha returned to their old home, UML. In this way, the Unified Socialists split into three factions when they tried to unite with the Maoists.
Similarly, the Nepal Communist Party led by Netra Bikram Chand also split after the merger with the Maoists. A group led by Chiran Pun joined the Maoists. Similarly, another leader of the NCP, Karnajit Budhathoki, also formed a separate group and joined the Maoists. But the NCP, headed by General Secretary Netra Bikram Chand, changed its name and formed the NCP (Maoist).
After the decision to merge with other parties, the Maoists also did not remain united. Expressing dissatisfaction with the merger, Deputy General Secretary Janardan Sharma and Secretary Ram Karki left the party. They merged with former Maoist Vice President Baburam Bhattarai on Sunday and formed the 'Progressive Democratic Party'. After differences with Coordinator Dahal increased, the Sharma faction could not remain in the Maoists.
While the merger talks with the Nepali Communist Party were ongoing, the Janata Samajwadi Party, headed by Ashok Rai, also split. On Sunday, Janata Samajwadi Party Federal Council Chairman Rajendra Shrestha, Vice-Chairmen Randhwaj Limbu (Kandangwa) and Parashuram Basnet decided to leave the party and unite with the NCP. Despite talks with Executive Chairman Ashok Rai, the JSP split after no agreement was reached. One group has decided to join the NCP.
Shrestha said that since there are three factions in the JSP, a unanimous decision to unite the party could not be made. ‘We have reached a decision to unite with the NCP. Some are in favor of running the old party and some are in favor of uniting with some other force,’ he said.
Six leaders of the Central Executive Committee left the JSP to unite with the NCP. ‘In the new situation that has developed after the Gen-G movement, even the achievements of the 2062/063 BS people’s movement may be in danger, so we believe that we should fight together with the political forces that support progressive change and achieve more achievements. Therefore, we request information about the Nepali Communist Party, which was formed by uniting various parties and separating from their respective positions and responsibilities, moving forward in the direction of unification and polarization,’ they said in a statement issued on Sunday.
When the then Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was the Prime Minister, the Janata Samajwadi Nepal was divided in 2081 Baisakh and another JSP was formed under the leadership of Ashok Rai. After that, the JSP led by Rai participated in the government. Out of 12 seats in the House of Representatives, 7 went to Rai.
Chairman Yadav had only five MPs. At that time, JSP Nepal Chairman Yadav had accused the then Prime Minister (currently the NCP coordinator) Dahal of dividing his party. After that, he separated from the Socialist Front, including the Maoists and the Unified Socialists. Yadav alleged that Dahal played a role in dividing JSP Nepal to strengthen his government.
Netra Bikram Chand was included in the Socialist Front, saying that the party would unite with the Maoists. At that time, talks were held with the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) led by Chand for unity, but they were unsuccessful. A group of Chiran Pun from Chand's NCP broke away and joined the Maoists. After that, Chand has been distancing himself from Dahal. Recently, he also separated from the Socialist Front. Chand has formed the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) by reviving the 'Maoism' that Dahal abandoned after forming the Nepal Communist Party. The Election Commission has already recognized the NCP (Maoist). Now he has said that he will take the Maoist trend forward.
After the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) was formed, consisting of Maoists, Unified Socialists and other components, on Kartik 26, UML former vice-chairman and coordinator of the Motherland Campaign Bhim Rawal also joined. The then strategy of NCP coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal was to unite with as many parties and leaders as possible. Accordingly, he has launched a party unity campaign before the elections without getting involved in political, theoretical, and ideological debates as much as possible.
After joining the peace process, Dahal is continuing the unity and division. After joining the peace process, he had started cooperation with the NCP Unity Center Masal led by Narayan Kaji Shrestha in 2065 Poush. Despite becoming the first party in the 2064 Constituent Assembly elections, he could not keep the party united. Expressing dissatisfaction with the peace process and the parliamentary political system, a split occurred in Asad 2069 under the leadership of Mohan Vaidya. Despite the withdrawal of almost half of the votes, the Maoists led by Dahal continued to play an important role in the power game as a third party.
In the 2074 general election, the UML and the Maoists formed an electoral alliance. Following Dahal's strategy, UML Chairman Oli agreed to unite with Dahal. In Jestha 2075, the two parties formed the Nepal Communist Party. Oli became the Prime Minister with about two-thirds of the votes in parliament, while Oli and Dahal became the chairmen of the NCP. But due to the power struggle, the rivalry grew. After Rishi Kattel claimed the NCP, the Supreme Court separated the UML and the Maoists in Falgun 2077. Although the Supreme Court showed the way to register with the Election Commission under a different name, Oli and Dahal went their separate ways. Not only that, the Madhav Kumar Nepal faction, which had formed a front against Oli while in the NCP, split the UML in Bhadra 2078 and formed the NCP Unified Socialist Party.
Dahal and Nepal, who had formed a front against Oli in the NCP, united on Kartik 19 and formed the Nepali Communist Party. But two parts of the Unified Socialist Party were left out. General Secretary Ghanshyam Bhusal is in the process of forming a separate party, while famous leader Ramkumari Jhankri has returned to the UML.
Researcher Prem Darshan Sapkota said that Dahal is a leader who can do 'right and left' to maintain his relevance. 'Prachanda has the quality of being able to easily get along with anyone to remain relevant,' he said, 'There are many examples of him splitting and reuniting after he joined the peace process.' It is his old tendency to integrate groups that break away from other parties into his party. Even when the last Nepali Communist Party was formed, some parties were divided.'
Former secretary and analyst Ram Karki, who recently left the Maoists, expressed doubts about the long-term unity achieved by dividing the Samajwadi Party into three parts, the CPN (Chand) into two parts, and the JSP Nepal (Ashok Rai) into two parts.
He said that although it was momentary fun to split the 'Mitrashakti', there is a risk that it will turn on itself in the long run. 'Even if Prachandaji tries to strengthen himself temporarily by splitting the Mitrashakti, it will harm him in the long run,' he said. 'How long will the unity achieved by splitting another Mitrashakti be long-term?' He said that Dahal has sought 'support' by gathering a group of leaders who are to retire from the Unified Socialist Party.
