COMMENTARY: Prachanda skilfully framing Congress veterans

Chitra Raj Bhandari: Nepal’s UCPN Maoist supremo Puspa Kamal Dahal aka ‘Prachanda’ has remained famous for his cunning proposals that change with the milieu. His double edge talks always have a plan. Double standard shown by him in simultaneously proposing CA resurrection and CA elections, has delivered results. Nepali Congress is internally divided on the row and it is sure to help in maintaining his dominance in Nepal’s politics for some time now.

On Monday also, Prachanda rolled both dices at the same time. He claimed that his party will remain stead fast with its present proposal of CA resurrection. But in the next sentence, he added that CA election is his party’s official decision and would stick to it.

With both said, Prachanda once again denied any clear cut framework from his party’s side, keeping Congress and UML starring at him with amazement, disgust ( in case of Koirala) and hope ( in case of Paudel, and Deuba. Koirala says both of them are supporting Prachanda to become PM of the much hyped consensus government).

Prachanda did this double-talk at a tea party hosted by Nepali Congress. And at this same party, Congress Party President Sushil Koirala did not made any efforts to conceal his frustration with Prachanda’s blunt proposals.

Sushil said that its high time that Prachanda comes up with a clear framework for resolving political impasse.

While saying this it was evident, Koirala still remained in a lurch and devoid of his counter plans or own party’s plan for resolving the present deadlock. Which he should have as the president of the Nepal’s leading democratic party.

While Sushil dared to deny submitting to Prachanda’s recent plan on CA resurrection, his deputy Ram Chandra Paudel, who until recently was his strong supporter, said CA resurrection was the only viable option to resolve Nepal’s political crisis.

Besides Paudel, Sher Bahadur Deuba, Koirala’s long standing rival within the party, bluntly stood in favour of CA resurrection and claimed that the upcoming Central Committee meeting of the party will take a formal decision in that regard.

Deuba’s and Paudel’s statements were indicative of their strong undeclared allegiance in endorsing CA resurrection proposal at the party’s central committee meeting and jointly confronting Sushil.

This in fact is Prachanda’s plan to maintain his party’s domination in Nepal’s politics which, if gone for CA reelections would fall given his party’s failure to fulfill the promises made during the insurgency and the CA election run.