"I talked to Koirala as NC president, not as HLPC coordinator, because we have made it clear time and again that our party doesn´t recognize the committee as a legitimate body," Baidya told Republica.[break]
Koirala and NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel went to Baidya´s residence at Dhapasi on Thursday in a bid to persuade him to join the election process. Koirala took the initiative after assuming the role of HLPC coordinator. HLPC is headed by the chiefs of the UCPN (Maoist), NC, CPN-UML and United Madhesi Democratic Front (UDMF) on a rotation basis.
Earlier, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had headed the committee for a month. Koirala had announced in public that he would try his level best to bring Baidya´s CPN-Maoist and other dissident political parties on board the election process once he headed the high-level committee.
Koirala requested Baidya to join the HLPC to help settle election-related issues and to participate in the poll process but the latter turned him down outright. "We are firm in our conviction that the entire process of forming the present government and announcing new elections is based on wrong premises. First, this entire process should be scrapped," Baidya said. "We can join hands with them only after they become ready to start a new process." Baidya was accompanied by CPN-Maoist Secretary Dev Gurung.
Baidya´s party has termed not only the HLPC but also the present government illegitimate. The party has announced it is not to hold any dialogue with the HLPC and the present Khil Raj Regmi-led government of bureaucrats.
CPN-Maoist, Upendra Yadav´s Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) and the Ashok Rai-led Federal Socialist Party have announced a boycott of the polls to be conducted by the present government. They were against the proposal to form an interim election government under the leadership of the sitting chief justice.
Baidya´s party cadres have disrupted election preparations being carried out by the Election Commission in several districts in recent days.
The government earlier this month formed a three-member talks team headed by Minister for Home and Foreign Affairs Madhav Ghimire. The two other members are Minister for Information and Communications Madhav Paudel and Minister for Local Development Bidyadhar Mallik.
The government earlier said it had dispatched formal letters to the dissident political parties to bring them on board.
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