Kathmandu, Nepal, December 28, 2021:Following the footsteps of the major three parties- CPN UML, Nepali Congress (NC) and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the CPN (Maoist Center), an ally of the incumbent government and third largest party in the parliament, is also holding its long overdue 8th general convention in Kathmandu.
Though the party had been preparing for the national conference on the name of chalking out party’s line and strategy in the changing context, it was rebranded into general convention at the eleventh hours, just hours before the inauguration session of the general convention on Sunday to elect the new leadership of the party.
The convention scheduled for three days likely to end on Tuesday by electing 15 member office bearers that include one president, one senior vice president, six vice presidents, one general secretary, two joint general secretaries, three secretaries, one treasurer and a 299 Central Committee members. However, party insiders have a saying that the convention time would be extended by one or two days if election was held due to the failure to forge consensus.
The delegate members of the convention indulged on the process to finalize the political document presented by the party chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal. It is said that selection process of the party leadership would begin after finalizing the political document likely on Tuesday, Party’s spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said on Monday.
Chair Dahal presented his political report titled as ‘the Path to Socialism in the 21st Century’ before the closed session on Monday. A total of 1,631 delegates present in the convention from across the country have been divided into 25 groups to discuss the political document.
It is unlikely that to change not only the political document but also the party chair. Dahal, who had the nom de guerre as Prachanda when the Maoists waged their decade long armed struggle from 1996-2006, will be the undisputed leader of the party for next term. The second rung leaders have been competing themselves for the office bearer posts but not dared to challenge Dahal.
Dahal has been leading the party since three and half decades sidelining the rival leaders. The senior most leaders of the party like Mohan Baidya Kiran and Dr. Baburam Bhattrai have already left the party after party joined in the peace process.
Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who had joined in the party in 2009 and claims himself as the senior most leaders after Dahal announced his bid for party leadership in a closed-session on Monday. However, it is unlikely that he would challenge Dahal in the post of Chair. Party insiders have a saying that he would have expressed his intention to lead the party with the motive to secure the senior vice president post.
It is said that Pampha Bhusal, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Dev Gurung, Girirajmani Pokhrel, Haribol Gajurel and Matrika Yadav are likely to become the vice-chairs while Janardan Sharma would become the General Secretary. Likewise, Leela Mani Pokhrel and Shakti Bahadur Basnet have been claiming the posts of joint general secretary while Hitman Shakya has been claiming for the post of secretary.
The Maoist party had held its seventh convention in Hetauda in 2013. The Hetauda convention was the first convention after the party laid down their arms in 2006 ending the decade-long people’s war to join mainstream politics. Though the party had emerged as the largest party in the first elections held after the Comprehensive Peace Accords (CPA), it has now limited into third one after most of the prominent leaders left the party pointing finger to the party’s ideology and leadership.
