Prachanda146;s acid test

Top leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists CPN-M are going to face some furious grilling from their party cadres during a national convention next week.

Top leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists CPN-M are going to face some furious grilling from their party cadres during a national convention next week. The convention, the first after CPN-M came to power more than three weeks ago, will search for the political direction that the government will tread.Workers can vent their anger against the growing distance from their leaders. They can also warn against compromise on the integration of Maoist combatants in the army.

The convention comes at a time when Prime Minister Prachanda has lost much of his charisma. He is being criticised in his party for fostering a culture of nepotism.Recently, he had to face the wrath of at least two of his ministers and many senior leaders for having packed the planning commission with close relatives of his 8216;key comrades8217; with no requisite qualification to hold the post. Moreover, his wife, son and nephew are his constant companions in major political, national and international forums and according to mid-rank leaders, the issue is going to come up in the convention. Prachanda8217;s daughter Renu is a member of the constituent assembly. His coterie is packed with people who were with the king in the same capacity three years ago.

The man who has vowed to make Prachanda accountable to the party is Kiran Baidya, senior ideologue who wants the country immediately declared a 8216;people8217;s republic8217; in which the state read Communist party dictates which political parties should be allowed to operate. In fact, Kiran is mainly targeting Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai , the man who wields almost complete influence over Prachanda . Kiran knows Bhattarai8217;s removal will make Prachanda dependent on him and enable the CPN-M to lead a kind of one party authoritarian rule. Currently, Kiran not only commands overwhelming support in the party, but also in the cabinet. Naturally, the convention will see Bhattarai8217;s wings clipped.

And as Bhattarai has been the architect of current politics 8212; CPN-M giving up insurgency, joining the peace process 8212; his removal may have a clear bearing on the peace process. Bhattarai is making a last-ditch battle on two fronts. To the international community, he is trying to signal that the peace process will collapse without his and Prachanda8217;s leadership; while inside the party he is trying to project himself as equally radical as Kiran and the rest. Last week, his statement that the private investors in education sector should look for alternatives caused NEPSE to fall enormously, but within the radical group of pro-Maoist students, he has somehow regained his lost position. He also said that health and education will be entirely run by the government, which looks near-impossible given the financial mess it is in.

Similarly, Prachanda has let his ministers speak in favour of not only integrating Maoist combatants in the army, but also proposing that Maoist commander Nandkishore Pun should lead the new national army. On November 12, he endorsed the line of his radical supporters that the government cannot return the property 8212; private and public 8212; that his party had captured during the decade-long conflict. In case the return was not possible by December 15, the compensation will be done at state expense. That meant not only legitimising the capture, but also acknowledging the Maoist party as the state8217;s main party, which Kiran8217;s exercise is all about.

It also means that if the Kiran group does not accept Prachanda8217;s olive branch, the prime minister will have to move completely towards the radical camp. That will once again render uncertain the hope of democracy, peace and prosperity.