After the UML and the NCP were reduced to a small size in the House of Representatives elections held on February 21, the top leaders of these two parties had to 'share' the table in Parliament.
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Nepali Communist Party (NCP) coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal and UML vice-chairman Ram Bahadur Thapa are 'co-comrades' in the Maoist armed war. At that time, Dahal was the Supreme Commander and Thapa was the co-commander. Not only that, they were also together in the front against the Panchayat autocratic system. However, now the former co-comrades are in different parties.
It must be said that it is a coincidence that these two co-comrades have shared the same table in this year's parliament. After the UML and the NCP shrank to a small size in the House of Representatives elections held on 21 Falgun, the top leaders of these two parties had to 'share' the table in parliament. In this election, Dahal was directly elected from Rukum East. Thapa, on the other hand, reached parliament through the UML proportional list.
The newly elected MPs took the oath on Thursday. Arjun Narsingh KC, the senior member of the House of Representatives, administered the oath to the MPs. At the ceremony, a single table was arranged for former Prime Minister Dahal and UML Vice President Thapa. Thapa and Dahal, who were seated in the first row, had a casual conversation. Thapa sat comfortably, but Dahal was in a tense state. He has a total of 17 MPs. Thapa, a former 'confidant' of Dahal, has been in UML since Falgun 2077.
It seems certain that Dahal from the NCP and Thapa from the UML will become the leaders of the parliamentary party. Dahal will lead 17 and Thapa 25 MPs in parliament. However, both have a Maoist background. Coincidentally, this time they will share the same table in parliament.
When the UML and Maoist united after the CPN (Maoist) reached a peak of controversy and were on the verge of splitting, many former Maoist leaders sided with Dahal, but Thapa chose UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. After Thapa emerged as the leader of the crisis, Oli is preparing to make Thapa the leader of the parliamentary party this time.
Thapa was the Home Minister in Oli's cabinet from 2077 and until Asad 2078. After the 2064 Constituent Assembly election, Maoist Chairman Dahal became the Prime Minister in Asad 2065 and Thapa became the Minister of Defense.
Even though the UML suffered a major defeat in the election held on 21 Falgun, Oli is preparing to take Thapa forward as the leader of the parliamentary party. When the power struggle between Oli and Dahal was reaching its peak, the Supreme Court heard a petition in 2077 Falgun and restored the UML and Maoists to their full status. While leaders from Maoist backgrounds like Dev Gurung and Pampha Bhusal joined the Maoists, Thapa remained in the UML. He remains Oli's confidant.
Whether in the Maoists or in the UML, Thapa openly supports the establishment. During the NCP era, he openly supported Oli. During the internal conflict in the UML, Thapa stood in favor of the establishment.
In April 2006, the Maoist-led government decided to dismiss the then Chief of Army Staff Rukmangat Katawal and appoint Kul Bahadur Khadka as the Chief of Army Staff. The then Defense Minister Thapa had taken the proposal to take action against Katawal to the Council of Ministers. Katawal was spared after President Ram Baran Yadav overturned that decision.
Maoist Chairman and then Prime Minister Dahal resigned on 21 Baisakh 2066 after a dispute erupted between the government and the Nepali Army.
After Maoist Chairman Dahal and Vice President Baburam Bhattarai moved forward with the work of drafting a constitution through the Constituent Assembly, the other Vice President Mohan Baidya's faction had a different opinion. Thapa sided with Baidya in that internal conflict. On 3 Jestha 2069, the CPN-Maoist was formed under the leadership of Mohan Baidya in Boudha, Kathmandu. A month later, in Ashar, the Unified CPN (Maoist) was formally divided.
