The party´s Standing Committee met at the party headquarters Parisdanda briefly, and decided to postpone the meeting to Tuesday and hold the party Central Committee (CC) on Wednesday. [break]
"We have unanimously decided to hold the CC on Wednesday," said Maoist spokesperson Dinanath Sharma after the meeting.
UCPN (Maoist) has not been able to hold meetings due to sharp differences among the three different factions led by Dahal, Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and Vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai.
Baidya and Bhattarai have demanded that the chairman share power among the party leaders and end his "monopoly" in the party. Baidya wants to take charge of the party´s organizational department, and Bhattarai the political front, including parliament.
But Dahal faction has stated that sharing of power in the party can be done once the party clarifies its stance on the peace process. But, Bhattarai and Baidya are not ready to buy the idea.
They want the sharing of party responsibilities among the leaders and the clearance of party´s course in the peace process go side by side.
According to party insiders, Dahal´s trusted lieutenant Narayankaji Shrestha and General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa are mulling throwing their weight behind Baidya-Bhattarai alliance, and if they did, the Dahal faction would fall into minority.
Dahal gained a strong position in the party central committee (CC) after those from the small leftist parties lent him support after their merger with the UCPN (Maoist).
So, if Shrestha, who joined the party from CPN (Unity Center-Masal), quits the Dahal faction, Dahal will find himself in a serious difficulty. Thapa also holds a good command in the CC and the party´s parliamentary board. "The meeting is being postponed indefinitely as the chairman´s postion has weakened lately," said a leader from the Bhattarai faction.
In the party standing committee meeting on Friday, Dahal had asked for two more days to bridge the factional divide, but the differences persisted and the meeting was postponed once again.
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