Kathmandu, Nepal: Even though the leftist alliance has secured comfortable majority in the federal parliamentary and provincial elections by selling the unity dream for stable government, the major allies of the leftist alliance- CPN UML and the CPN Maoist Center- have indulged now in the nonsense debate like whether the chicken or the egg was first to materialize their own swearing.
Even though both the parties had agreed earlier to merge the parties rightly after the elections, the leadership of both the sides seems to have stood in the crossroads of whether to merge the party before or after the formation of the government.
Some of the leaders from the CPN Maoist Centre have exerted pressure to the party leadership to chart out the party unification process immediately with the UML before the process for new government formation begins. The pressure has come from the Maoist leaders after they smell a rat that the UML would deviate from its own commitment.
The CPN Maoist Center has made the decision in the mean time when the CPN-UML has locked its horns with the Nepali Congress on the ordinance for National Assembly election. Interesting, the Maoist Center has also opposed the stand taken by the UML regarding the formation of the National Assembly.
A meeting of the Maoist headquarters held on Monday decided to claim ‘respectable’ shares in both the unified party and the new Cabinet. The second rung leaders of the Maoist Center have a demand that the government formation and party unity process should begin simultaneously.
As the UML, which has registered impressive seats in the federal and provincial elections, would form new government by taking into confidence anyone among two Madhes based parties, some leaders of the Maoist Center want to settle the sharing in the government and the united party immediately.
It is said that the Maoist Centre was compelled to make the hasty decision as some responsible leaders of the UML including its General Secretary Ishwor Pokhrel had said that his party’s Chairman KP Sharma Oli should lead both the new party and the government.
Reacting to the statements of UML General Secretary Pokhrel, the meeting of the Maoist had reached on the conclusion that all the two crucial posts- prime minister including the chair of Parliamentary Party and the party chair should not go to the UML.
We have decided to begin the government formation process only after working out in a modality for party unification, Maoist Centre leader Barshaman Pun, who is considered as the nearer of the party chairman Dahal said.
As the government formation process would be delayed due to a conflict over election to the National Assembly, we should work for the party unification process, he said.
It is said that Pun’s remarks represents the sentiments of the Maoist Chairman Dahal even though he has not made any comments regarding the share in the government and the united party. It is said that Party Chair Dahal also wants that the government formation process would begin only after modalities for party unification are laid out.
As most of the leaders including Narayen Kaji Shrestha,Ram Bahadur Thapa, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Matrika Yadav, Janardan Sharma including Pun have no clarity about their individual portfolio in the new party, they seem anxious with the planned merger. The second rung leaders have a demand that the party should not be merged unless the UML agrees to grant respectable status in the new party.
As the CPN-UML Chair Oli and CPN Maoist Center Chair Dahal had agreed earlier to alternatively rotate the premiership and party chairmanship, others leaders of the UML have also stood against of the so-called understandings.
It was said that Oli and Dahal would lead the government for two-and-a-half years each in line with an agreement reached between the two leaders while forming the alliance for parliamentary and provincial polls.
