KATHMANDU: In its attempt to resolve the organizational issues and prepare the new leadership for the party, the UCPN (Maoist) might go for the special general convention within a year of its seventh general convention held in Hetauda in February.

The UCPN (Maoist), the largest communist party in the south Asia, is reeling under crisis after its vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai announced ‘post sacrifice’ at a central committee meeting last week.

In a weekly regular press the meet program, UCPN (Maoist) spokesperson Agni Sapkota said the party could also go for the special general convention. “Discussions to this issue are underway. The office-bearers are holding discussions in this matter intensively,” Sapkota said.

He also said that the party would give equal opportunity to Muslims, Dalits, women, indigenous and minority communities based on their age—youth, adult and old.

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s lead politician from the Opposition camp have boycotted the ongoing seventh general convention of the ruling UCPN Maoist.

Senior leaders of major political parties- Nepali Congress and CPN UML – denied to participate in athe opening session of the UCPN Maoist which presently claims to be the largest party in the nation.

Leaders of both parties have excused themselves from the general convention citing prior engagement in party’s internal affairs and launching of anti-government agitating across the nation.

NC President Sushil Koirala has been in the mid -western region of the nation in launching anti-government agitation in the hilly and terai districts. He is slated to address a mass gathering of all opposition parties in Surkhet today.

Similarly, CPN UML Chairman Jhalnath Khanal is heading for Eastern region of the nation on Saturday to address similar mass gatherings in that region.

He is scheduled a mass gathering in Biratnagar on Saturday.

Despite confrontation between ideologies, political parties parties participate in each others general conventions as invitees.

However Nepal’s lead politician broke away from this political diplomacy citing necessity to launch agitation against the government led by the UCPN Maoist itself.

HETAUDA: Nepal’s largest political party, the UCPN (Maoist) is holding its seventh general convention in Hetauda from today. The party spokesperson Agni Prasad Sapkota said final preparations for the jamboree were completed.

Party Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ is scheduled to inaugurate the program at Hupra Chaur in Hetauda this afternoon in front of the thousands of people, guests and convention delegates.

The leaders and the cadres of the party from different parts of the country have already arrived. The cadres from neighboring districts are still coming to attend the congress. The party would also take out rallies from different parts of the city.

This convention is special and significant like a revolutionary festival and has thereby generated a new enthusiasm across the country and people, Sapkota said.

The industrial city Hetauda has been decorated in red for the convention and cadres have remained busy publicizing the convention.

Security situation has been beefed up with the deployment of some 1,500 security forces of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force while liquor sale and consumption has been banned. Similarly, party’s YCL have also given security to the party top leaders and some 3,500 delegates.

Representatives from over a dozen communist parties including the Communist Party of China, Korea Workers’ Party, Russian Communist Party, Red Party, Norway, Communist Party of India are also taking part in the convention.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yang Houlan, the North Korean Ambassador and the Russian Ambassador to Nepal are also scheduled to take part in the inaugural session of the general convention.

However, opposition leaders, CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala and others are not showing up at the inaugural session of the ruling UCPN (Maoist).

The seventh general convention is significant not only because it is taking place after a long gap of 21 years but also because it comes just eight months after a formal split in the party.

Nearly 3,000 participants, including representatives and observers have thronged Hetauda to take part in the convention while the national and international media persons have also gathered for the news coverage of the event.

Earlier, a meeting of the party’s top leaders on Friday endorsed the statute to be presented in the party’s general convention emphasizing more on collective leadership.

Analysts, oppositions, UCPN (Maoist)’s critics and sympathizers have been keenly watching the former rebel party’s jamboree and are looking forward to its decisions.

Political analyst Jhalak Subedi believes that the UCPN (Maoist)’s general convention would institutionalize the party’s journey to peace politics after coming through the people’s war.

Commenting on the ideological shift of the UCPN (Maoist), Subedi hailed Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s document for ending his regular statements of calling Nepal a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country.

“His (Dahal’s) document has not only done away with the communist jargons, it has also ended the earlier hangover of a traditional communist party.”

Chairman Prachanda has also dropped the party’s ideology of New People’s Democratic Revolution to dub it now as Nepali revolution.

Earlier, party Chairman Prachanda had said that the party’s general convention would give a momentum to the country’s ongoing political deadlock and Nepal’s communist revolution would proceed in a new fashion in its own originality.

Likewise, political analyst Shyam Shrestha believes that the Maoists’ jamboree would further unite the party, making party’s entire mechanisms more dynamic.

“But, less pre-convention debates on UCPN (Maoist)’s agendas and guidelines proved disappointing,” Shrestha bemoaned.

Asked about possibilities of ending the country’s current political stalemate, analyst Shrestha hoped the conclave of the ruling party would set a clear roadmap for the country’s politics.

Similarly, columnist Yug Pathak said that the UCPN (Maoist) would receive a new life after the Hetauda jamboree. “From the perspective of sharp political polarization, the UCPN (Maoist) has been widely criticized. So, the convention should encourage the party to further unite,” Pathak argues.

Pathak said, “Maoists’ mentality of building a prosperous nation by quitting the single agenda of struggle would give momentum to the party,”

Chairman Prachanda in his political document entitled “New Synthesis of Nepali Revolution: A Historical Necessity” has emphasized many issues including devoting the cadres in cooperatives and productions.

Meanwhile, oppositions and Maoists’ vocal critics have viewed the general convention as just a fiasco and that it would not bring anything new for the country and people. They have argued that the general convention would end just by gathering some 3,000 cadres in Hetauda and sending them back home.

Senior journalist Yubaraj Ghimire said the question is whether the ideology and policy adopted by the convention would be enforced in letter and spirit and whether the cadres of the party would be able to make the leaders more accountable.

“It (the convention) does not hold any connection with the current national politics”, he said.

But, UCPN (Maoist) leaders Jhakku Subedi, Narendra Jung Peter and Jhalak Pani Tiwari told RSS that they would come univocally after the party’s general convention and believed that the convention would cement unity in the party and give a breakthrough to the present deadlock.

“It would up the thoughts of leaders and cadres,” Peter said.

They even shared that the general convention would revitalize the party and make cadres able to tackle with the new challenges.

Maoist leader Subedi said, “We will end up by bringing concrete agendas to uplift people’s living standards not merely the heaps of political jargons.”

Asked about future leadership of the UCPN (Maoist), analyst Subedi quipped, “It would reconfirm Prachanda’s seniority.”

Despite no change in party’s leadership, it easier to speculate that the UCPN (Maoist) would come up with a new vigor to challenge their political rivals, both in terms of ideology and organizations, to continue the party’s political clout for future, at least for a decade.

The UCPN (Maoist) is holding its seventh general convention in Hetauda from Saturday.

The district convention of the UCPN (Maoist) is underway at Basantapur of Santapur in the district.
Ashok Jaisawal is leading the establishment faction while former minister Pravu Sah is leading the Bhattarai faction in the district.