Editorial»
The way ahead
JUN 16 -
The ongoing politburo meeting of the UCPN (Maoist) is to decide the party’s position on various issues that are of immediate concern. It is thus important in deciding the shape of Nepali politics in the medium term. A wide variety of issues are to be discussed during the meeting: there is to be discussion on whether the Maoists should push hard to enter government or whether it is better to remain in the opposition for the meantime; it is expected that party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal will present a paper and solicit advice on the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants; as well as on more immediate issues such as the stance the party should take regarding the forthcoming budget session in parliament. What has attracted most attention, however, is what is perceived to be the conflict among the party’s leaders over the issue of whether they should put forward a prime ministerial candidate other than Dahal in a situation where the other parties do not accept the latter.
This debate is largely seen as the outcome of the rivalry between Dahal and party Vice-Chairman Baburam Bhattarai. There is truth to the perception that Dahal does not wish anyone else other than himself from within the party to become prime minister because of reasons of personal ego. But it is also true that a large faction of the party sides with him because they believe that to allow another prime ministerial candidate would mean to unacceptably bow down to pressure from other parties. Meanwhile, those who support Bhattarai feel that the Maoists should seek the opportunity to take control of government and that it doesn’t matter which leader heads it.
While conflicts and debates of this kind have been ongoing for many years, it is only in the past few that they have come out into the open. In the past, the Maoists have been able to maintain a great degree of unity even as they faced severe internal strains. Since entering aboveground politics, however, they are beginning to face pressures they did not face as a rebel party. Politics now is much more complex than it was in the past. Nepali history is replete with examples of parties that, having achieved power after spending many years in the wilderness, have been unable to face the various pressures upon it and have split. It will be remembered that this happened both to the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML during the 1990s. This, of course, had a very detrimental effect not only on the parties but also on the quality of Nepali democracy. For, weakened and less cohesive party bodies are not able to represent the interests of the population. The Maoists should keep this in mind as they make decisions on the way ahead.
Posted on: 2010-06-17 09:59
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