Kathmandu: Prior to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal trip to China, coordinated efforts have been made to bring Nepal's communist parties together.
According to reports, Dahal also known as 'Prachanda' has stated that he plans to visit China in July or early August.
The CPN Maoist Centre and the CPN Unified Socialist Party, as well as Netra Bikram Chand (Biplab) and Mohan Baidya, have made attempts to unite the communist components, Pardafas reported.
According to sources, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal has been quietly working for this union with the Ambassador and a group of intellectuals from the Chinese Communist Party in Nepal.
Notably, this group has been in contact with high-level figures such as former President Bidya Devi Bhandari, former Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota, Maoist Centre leader Barshaman Pun, and National Assembly Speaker Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, who is currently in China.
In response to these developments, China's Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, has been actively participating in political discussions. According to sources, China intends to complete initiatives that were previously stalled during the CPN era, including issues of trade, security, and defence, as well as treaties and accords, according to Pardafas.
Recently, Prime Minister Prachanda accepted an invitation from Liu Jianchao, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party's Foreign Affairs Department, who had visited Nepal. Prachanda stated that he plans to visit China in the coming month or early August.
This announcement follows the visit of a team of leaders from the Maoist Center who had recently returned from China. Agni Prasad Sapkota, one of the Maoist leaders who were part of the delegation, confirmed that he had conveyed Prachanda's desire to the Chinese side, Pardafas reported.
Before that, the discussion on unification between the communist parties in Nepal intensified. Recently, there have been efforts to bring together parties such as the Maoist Center, CPN-US, Biplav, and Baidya leadership.
In relation to this, the Chairman of the Maoist Center and Prime Minister Prachanda, Chairman of CPN-US Madhav Kumar Nepal, Chairman of NSP Baburam Bhattarai, Biplav, and other leaders also held a discussion at the Prime Minister's Residence in Baluwatar on Friday, Pardafas reported.
According to sources aligned with the Maoist, the objective is to initiate unity by forming a Socialist front and subsequently establish the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN). The anticipated announcement of this front is expected to occur around or shortly after mid-June.
The decision made during the upcoming meeting of the Central Committee of the Maoist Center in June will also play a significant role in shaping the formation of this front. Furthermore, this front will actively pursue unification with the CPN-UML and endeavour to revive the then-Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).
CPN-US Chairman and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has publicly called for the revival of the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP). Speaking at the first district convention of CPN (Unified Socialist) Bhaktapur held in Bhaktapur on Saturday, he expressed his willingness to revive the CPN, Pardafas reported.
"Our party has no intention of merging with another party. Some people may speculate about a possible merger with UML. However, even within UML, there is unrest and disagreement. If we were to merge, it would be to revive the old party," he emphasized.
"I invite Prachandaji to join hands, and together, we can revitalize the Nepal Communist Party CPN. Will KPji be ready? Let us reawaken the Nepal Communist Party CPN."
After UML removed the age limit of 70 years, National Assembly lawmaker and former Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam are also ready to join CPN (UML). Following UML's decision to suspend the age limit for the party's executive post, he expressed his willingness to return to UML along with his friends.
The Chinese side has consistently shown interest in the unity of communist parties in Nepal. They actively participated in the formation of the former CPN and sent high-level leaders to Nepal multiple times for this purpose. Even during the potential split of the CPN, the then-Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, made significant efforts to prevent it, Pardafas reported.
During the presidential election, Chinese Ambassador Chen Song also played a crucial role in preventing the collapse of the ruling coalition. At that time, the alliance consisted of the Maoist, UML, RSP, and RPP.
Ambassador Song met with Prime Minister Prachanda, UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli, CPN (US) Chairman Madhav Nepal, and others in order to prevent the collapse. This was crucial as UML and Maoist were the two main components of the former CPN.
However, Ambassador Song's efforts were unsuccessful, and the Maoists formed a new alliance with the Congress party. Once again, China has shown interest in a communist alliance and unification, which seems to be in preparation for Prime Minister Prachanda's visit to China. —ANI
