KATHMANDU, August 12: Pressure is increasing on Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center), who has led the party for 35 consecutive years, to step down from his leadership role. After exiting the government, there has been growing scrutiny of the party's central leadership during ongoing internal meetings, with rising calls from the new generation for Dahal to relinquish his leadership position.
Haribol Gajurel, a close aide of Dahal and Deputy General Secretary, raised concerns about the leadership during a meeting of party officials, demanding a special congress to address the issues. He proposed that all office-bearers should resign. He even submitted his own resignation as a starting point. Following this, in a meeting of the Standing Committee held from Saturday, another Deputy General Secretary, Janardan Sharma, also questioned the central leadership through political documents.
During Dahal's tenure as Prime Minister, Gajurel, who was a political advisor, had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the party's lack of adherence to procedures and methods. As questions arise about the central leadership of the Maoist Center, which is focused on organizational development, Dahal has found himself in a defensive position. Currently, two influential deputy general secretaries of the Maoist Center, Barshaman Pun and Janardan Sharma, are united in their support for changing the central leadership.
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Both of them had claimed the position of General Secretary at the party's general convention. While there was ongoing contention between them for the role of General Secretary, Dahal appointed Dev Gurung to the position. It was Pun and Sharma who formed separate equations with the Nepali Congress and UML to bring Dahal to the leadership of the government.
In the ongoing Central Committee meeting, Pun has argued that there should be a debate on the term length of the party's chairperson. "Instead of discussing whether the leader should step down now, we need to determine the term length of the chairperson," he stated during the meeting.
Not only Gajurel, Sharma, and Pun, but also several other members of the Central Committee have expressed the view that the term of the chairperson should be defined. Secretary Ram Karki also stated that this issue has brought the party to a serious situation, suggesting that the current leadership and organization are not suitable for advancing the socialist revolution. This led to a moment of silence in the meeting. He emphasized that a new generation should also be prepared for leadership. Following the discussions about the need for a leadership change, Dahal remained silent.
At the Central Committee meeting held last year at Pragya Bhawan, Kamaladi, Pun and Sharma openly criticized Chairman Dahal's style of leadership. Dahal did not respond to their criticisms. Pun and Sharma complained that despite receiving full support from the party and its leaders, Dahal spread rumors that he did not get cooperation. “Support was extended at every moment, but it was viewed as non-cooperation,” a Central Committee member quoted Pun as saying.
At the meeting, Sharma and Pun are claimed to have held nearly identical views on party policies, leadership, and organizational methods. “Currently, both Pun and Sharma exhibit a unified stance on leadership issues,” said one of the Standing Committee members.
At the Central Committee meeting held in mid-February at the City Hall and the First Statute Convention at Pragya Bhawan, Kamaladi, during mid-February, leaders, including Pun and Sharma, voiced opinions that all committee members should be directly elected, the term of leadership should be defined, the organizational structure should be streamlined, and the relationship between the party and the public should be reestablished.
At the Standing Committee meeting on Saturday, Senior Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Vice Chairman Agni Prasad Sapkota, and the deputy general secretaries Janardan Sharma and Barshaman Pun shared their views. Additionally, secretaries Ganesh Sah, Surendra Karki, Devendra Poudel, and Chakrapani Khanal, along with Standing Committee members Kul Prasad KC, Parshuram Tamang, Ganeshman Pun, and Amrita Thapa, expressed their opinions on the party's direction and strategy. Some of them suggested dissolving the current office-bearers and holding a special convention to rejuvenate the party.
According to Spokesperson Agni Sapkota, on Sunday, Kamala Roka, Pampha Bhusal, Urmila Aryal, Shakti Basnet, Shashi Shrestha, Hitman Shakya, Onsari Gharti, Purnakumari Subedi, Kalibahadur Malla, Maheshwar Gahataraj, Pralhad Budhathoki, Hakikulla Khan, Jaipuri Gharti, and Jokhbahadur Mahar also shared their views. “The process of members expressing their opinions is ongoing. The chairman has not yet given his stance; he is listening to the viewpoints of the members,” said Spokesperson Sapkota.
