CPN (Maoist Center) is set to take a formal decision to support Nepali Congress (NC) candidate in the presidential election concluding that making someone from the ruling coalition president cannot provide stability to politics and can put the party in a difficult situation.
A senior Maoist leader confided that the party will convene standing committee meeting next week and take decision to that regard. The leader added that office-bearers’ meeting may also be convened before the standing committee meeting.
“I don’t know how the decision will be written at that time. But the gist will be same whether it comes as voting for NC or for national consensus,” another Maoist leader confirmed when asked if the party will take a decision specifying to vote for NC candidate.
The leader stressed that there was no confusion in the party about supporting NC for president. He also ruled out any non-political person becoming president. “To not make candidates of NC and CPN-UML president is to anger both the parties. That is not possible and making efforts to go toward that is to seek additional stability.”
Candidacy for president has to be registered on February 25 as per the election schedule and Maoist Center is set to take formal decision to support NC before that.
The leader reasoned that the party would take the decision as adequate signals have already appeared showing that the coalition with CPN-UML cannot continue for long. “UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has only been working to encircle the prime minister (PM). Oli has been holding separate meetings with RPP and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and agreeing things with them to put the PM in a difficult situation,” the leader added.
The leader claimed that Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had felt uneasy right from the time this coalition was formed and accused Oli of dominating sharing of ministries against the wishes of PM Dahal.
“They (UML) seem to have believed right from the beginning that Maoist Center can be squeezed as it came quitting the coalition with NC.”
Janamat Party President CK Raut had also hinted about Dahal’s uneasiness and Oli’s dominance in the coalition in an interview with Setopati three weeks back.
He had said that the first thing to shock him in the first meeting of the coalition in Balkot after Dahal quit the then coalition with NC and CPN (Unified Socialist) was the helplessness of Dahal whom he considered to be the hero of revolution. "I became a mere spectator as the main leader of the change could be seen trapped there. I kept gazing at Dahal. I didn't speak anything. Such a personality seemed to be trapped there."
Dahal quit the coalition with NC and Unified Socialist on December 25, 2022 and became prime minister (PM) with support of CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party, RPP, Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party after Nepali Congress (NC) Sher Bahadur Deuba refused to make him PM first.
Oli had assured NC that UML will not ally with Maoist Center at any cost and would instead ally with NC to form the new government to encourage Deuba to break the agreement to make Dahal PM first.
Maoist leaders complain that Oli has been relentlessly putting pressure on Dahal to take decisions in Oli’s favor since then. Most of the Maoist Center leaders had spoken against voting for UML candidate in the presidential election during the party’s standing committee meeting at the end of January.
Multiple sources claim that top NC and Maoist leaders have already agreed about the presidential election and there is unanimity in NC to reach formal agreement with Maoist Center for presidential election.
Yet another Maoist leader has told Setopati that Dahal has decided to support NC candidate concluding that the party cannot again unify with UML. “The only thing that we cannot do with NC is party unification. That possibility has ended even with UML. It is better to change course now that we cannot move together with UML for the long term.”
The leader has added that the national politics will take a new course with the decision of Maoist Center to support NC candidate in presidential election.
