"What the central committee meeting did was a temporary settlement as the contentious issues remain unresolved," says CC member Kumar Paudel. [break]
According to leaders, the distrust between the two factions have already begun over the resignation of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai which is one of the key demands of the hardliners led by Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya.
A day after he assured the Baidya faction that he would recall Bhattarai from the government, Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had told the leaders of the Baidya faction that it would be "great injustice" on him if they even thought that he would change the government leadership.
"This created mistrust between Dahal and Baidya and made any hearty reconciliation impossible," says Maoist leader Ram Karki who is close to Bhattarai.
And this is evident from the decisions of the CC meeting on Sunday. The party has decided to move ahead through "consensus" on the issues of the peace and constitution drafting process and power-sharing. "How can the chairman reach consensus with Baidya who thinks the current course of the party is serious deviation from the party´s ideology? It is the method of a joint front, not of a communist party," says a leader close to Dahal.
To decide that any move of the party is to be taken via consensus means Dahal would not be able to make compromises on the peace and constitution drafting process, which means the Maoist chairman has only two options: either quit the peace process or ignore the Baidya faction.
Second, the rival factions have agreed to take the ideological disputes outside the party in "stark violation" of the communist principle of democratic centralism.
Party leaders say the factions can hold separate gatherings by informing the headquarters and "slander" each other, which the factions have been doing already.
"In fact, the meeting only legitimized the activities of the Baidya faction which has been running a party within the party," says a leader close to Bhattarai.
Party leaders say factionalism is likely to reach a climax when Dahal will be hard-pressed to take the peace process and constitution drafting process due to the approaching CA deadline.
"Since the chairman is not in a condition to quit the line of peace and constitution, the approaching CA deadline is likely to lead the party to crisis," says Paudel.
The Baidya faction, on the other hand, believes that the NC and the UML are against framing constitution of the "people´s federal democratic republic" and "dignified" integration of the PLA personnel into the NA directorate, which will inevitable lead the party to a "people´s revolt" for state capture.
"The CC decision is in favor of revolution. PLA integration must be completed in a dignified manner and there must be a constitution of a federal democratic republic. Otherwise, a people´s revolt is inevitable," says Kul Prasad KC who is close to Baidya.
But the party establishment leaders say that the peace process and constitution drafting will be taken ahead through compromises. "We are ready for compromise though we are against surrendering to the parliamentary parties. If some party leaders don´t want compromise and launch a revolt, let them bask in their wishful thinking," says Shakti Basnet who is close to Dahal.
The party radicals are also not sure if Dahal, given his political strategy to vacillate between the lines of Bhattarai and Baidya, has really embraced their political line. "I don´t want to talk about it now. But what I can say is we have at least won the intra-party battle, ideologically," says Maoist leader Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma.
But what if Dahal violates the decision to move ahead through consensus and make compromises in the peace and constitution drafting process? "We will wait and see. If so, the party establishment may go its own way, but we will not budge from our stance," says KC.
Meanwhile, as part of the party’s decision to press for peace and constitution, the party has decided to hold cadre orientation program from January 19 to February 3 and celebrate the “People’s War” anniversary on February 13 with rallies at eight different places.
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