The most visible trademark of the party has been that its leaders give divergent views on the same issue, making people and journalists alike wonder what is correct and what is not. [break]
BP Yadav is one among many unique MPRF leaders, who comes up with an idea about what should happen in the party about a certain issue one fine morning and tells about it to the media, claiming that that is the party’s official line – only to be proven wrong an hour or so later. This has happened between the media and MPRF leaders several times in recent weeks.
The issue of resignation of the four MPRF ministers in the cabinet has become so central that BP Yadav has secured the signatures of 38 out of 52 party lawmakers demanding the resignations. The nine-hour long meeting of the party’s lawmakers on Wednesday, which was called to settle the issue, saw extremely heated exchanges between the lawmakers, if not fist fights, while journalists watched bemused through glass windows. Though some of the leaders claim that the party is now one happy family following the meeting the issue is yet to be resolved.
What has led the party to such a pass? Party insiders say there are four things at work here: (1) individual interests of the top party leaders, who have come together in the party from various political backgrounds; (2) unilateral decisions by party chairman Upendra Yadav in absence of strong grassroots bases; (3) growing grievances among the party cadres towards the government; and (4) tussle among the leaders for powerful positions both in the party and in government.
The recurring resignation drama of MPRF ministers in the government, staged by top party leaders, is the outcome of a hardening triangular mistrust among the top leaders – party chief Upendra Yadav (also Foreign Minister), parliamentary party leader Bijay Kumar Gachchhedar (Minister for Physical Planning and Works) and JP Gupta (Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives). The fourth minister from the party, Renu Kumari Yadav, is not very frequently in this picture of controversy.
The intra-party problem can be traced back to August last year, when the party submitted a list of ministers to represent it in the Cabinet and a name for the parliamentary party leader. But when the party lawmakers couldn’t agree on the names for ministers, they turned to the six-member political committee to decide the names. The committee recommended the names, all four from Sunsari and Saptari districts.
That’s why the crux of the problem lies in the ministers’ resignation. “The party will become one once the ministers resign,” says Rabindra Thakur, an MPRF central committee member. “The party is passing through a difficult phase because the leaders are jostling for powerful positions.”
Thakur says the understandings the party reached with the coalition partners at the time of joining the government haven’t been implemented, giving rise to discontent along party lines. They say that the government hasn’t done anything to implement an agreement the government of the day reached with the Madhesi front in February last year, the most important task the party had assigned the four ministers.
Party youth leaders and ordinary party workers say the resignation of the ministers is the only way out. Jagadish Sah, a member of the MPRF-affiliate Madhesi Youth Forum, says there is growing dissatisfaction among the party cadres who actively participated in the Madhes movement at the MPRF’s call. “Ministerial resignations are the first step towards consolidating the party,” says Sah, who is optimistic the ministers will resign and the party will move forward as one. “It will be very unfortunate for the party if the ministers don’t resign,” he warns, adding that the latter have to answer the ordinary Madhesis as to why they couldn’t deliver on expectations.
The issue of resignations will be settled by the Central Working Committee meeting of the party on January 11, according to Ram Janam Choudhary, MPRF chief whip. “The party is mentally prepared for the ministers’ resignation,” says Choudhary, echoing views expressed by other party leaders and cadres. Another party leader and MP, Mohammad Istiyak Rai, says the party lawmakers will resign en masse if the January 11 meeting fails to secure the ministers’ resignations.
However, Choudhary says the 38 lawmakers’ bid to call the ministers back and change the leaders in two important positions – chief whip and parliamentary party leader – has not adhered to a proper processes. “They haven’t done it through due legal process,” adds Choudhary, who is hopeful the first national convention of the party to be held in Birgunj from January 17-19 will be able to resolve all outstanding issues.
Another thing that has hurt the party rank and file is that party chief Upendra Yadav takes all important decisions on his own and has become almost completely inaccessible to them. “He even shies away from meeting party central committee members,” says Thakur. “He doesn’t have time for the party.”
A decision by another Madhesi party – Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) – to hit the streets, for the same reason that the MPRF leaders are asking the party to quit the government, has also prompted fears among MPRF leaders and cadres that public may be put off by the TMDP’s antics.
tilak@myrepublica.com
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