The second and third rung of leaders loyal to each of the three Maoist factions have become busy holding functions and meeting cadres in districts to win their support during the jumbo party plenum that will begin November 21 in Gorkha district.[break]
The Maoist party is vertically divided into three factions led by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai, respectively.
The top three leaders, who represent different ideological lines, will present separate political documents at the jumbo party meet that will see participation of over 5,500 members of Maoist state committees.
The leaders, whether in Kathmandu or outside, are employing all the means available to bolster their respective factions.
“Yes, I am in constant touch with the cadres and taking to them for their support,” said a Maoist central leader who is canvassing support for Dahal.
According to sources, Haribol Gajurel in the eastern region, Agni Sapkota and Barsaman Pun and Shakti Basnet in the central region and Lekhraj Bhatta in the western region are working hard to win the cadres´ support for party chairman Dahal.
Similarly, CP Gajurel in the eastern region, Kul Prasad KC in the in the central region and Netra Bikram Chand in the western region are actively seeking support for Mohan Baidya. Likewise, Ganga Shrestha, Devendra Poudel and Khagaraj Bhatta are canvassing support for Bhattarai in the eastern, central and western regions, respectively.
And there have been attempts by one faction to disrupt the campaigns of others, and attack others´ strongholds.
The current tussle for cadres´ support spilled over in the media after Gajurel of the east, who is also the in-charge of the Maoist Kochila State, tried to prevent the local cadres from meeting Dr Bhattarai in Biratnagar.
“Bhattarai made a sudden attack on Dahal´s stronghold in Kochila state, and achieved a remarkable success,” says a leader close to Bhattarai.
Party insiders say Bhattarai faction has become more aggressive in its campaign than the other two. “As Dahal and Bhattarai were in the same faction after the Chungwang meeting, the latter did not care much about organizational strength. So he has become active to expand his strength,” says a central leader.
According to leaders, Dahal looks strong in Maoist Tamuwan, Tamsaling and Newa states, Baidya in Magarat, Tharuwan and Bheri-Karnali, and Bhattarai in Limbuwan Madhes and Seti-Mahakali.
“But we cannot definitely say who is strong where. The results might come out as complete surprise. What is clearly seen now is that the intra-party tussle has become three-cornered,” says a leader.
Leaders say the Gorkha plenum will mark an important point in the history of the Maoist party as it will chart out the party´s new strategy.
The three top leaders are at loggerheads over the immediate working policy of the party. If a “people´s revolt” to seize state power is an immediate priority for Baidya to achieve the communist ideological goals, it is only the last resort for Bhattarai. But Dahal is ambiguous in his stance on the issue, though he looks close to Bhattarai who wants to first institutionalize the political achievements made so far. Similarly, Dahal and Baidya are for declaring India the principal enemy, while Bhattarai is for declaring “domestic feudalism” the principal enemy.
The participants will be divided into various groups, each of which will form its opinion and present them at the meeting. At the end, Dahal will prepare another document by accommodating all the views. But if Baidya and Bhattarai don´t become satisfied, they can hold on to their political documents. Then the conflict will be resolved in the general convention.
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