By IANS
Kathmandu : Nepal’s Maoists Monday stole a march over the Nepali Congress (NC), the biggest party in the country, by uniting with a communist splinter group ahead of the NC’s merger with its breakaway faction.
With a crucial election scheduled for Nov 22, Nepal’s parties have been holding frantic consultations for mergers or alliances with like-minded groups to increase their chances in the polls.
The Maoists, who this month pulled out of the government and said they would oppose the election, Monday pulled off a union with a dissident communist group, the Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist/Leninist/Maoist.
The dissident faction had recently exited from the United Left Front (ULF), an alliance of left parties. The ULF is a junior partner in the ruling alliance.
The Maoists had also been trying to forge an understanding with the biggest communist party, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), with a view to pitching a united communist alliance at the election to battle the NC.
However, the plan fell through after they walked out of the government this month and announced they would oppose the election.
The UML has said it will take part in the polls.
Pressured by the Maoist merger, the NC said it too would reunite with its breakaway group, the Nepali Congress-Democratic (NCD) party, Tuesday.
While the NC is headed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, the NCD is led by his former protégé turned foe, deposed premier Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The feud between Koirala and Deuba started five years ago when Koirala led the party but Deuba headed the government.
Nepal was passing through one of its most turbulent times with the government declaring a state of emergency to combat the mounting Maoist insurgency.
Unable to hold the general election due to opposition by the guerrillas, Deuba decided to extend the period of emergency against the advice of his party.
It triggered a crisis with three ministers quitting and party president Koirala expelling Deuba for three years.
In retaliation, Deuba walked away with a group of MPs and formed the NCD that remained locked in a tussle with the NC.
The feud lessened after both parties were dealt a blow by King Gyanendra, who sacked Deuba and began controlling the government through nominated prime ministers.
Finally, the king’s attempt to stage a coup and seize direct power brought Nepal’s feuding parties together who formed a multiparty government after the king’s ouster last year.
With the government announcing a constituent assembly election, both Koirala and Deuba had been mulling reunification to increase their chances at the election.
However, the unity talks remained deadlocked for several months due to bickering over key posts.
On Monday finally, with the election just 58 days away and the Maoists having pulled off a merger, the NC and NCD set Tuesday for a formal reconciliation.
However, with personal considerations weighing more than party or national interests, it remains to be seen if the much-awaited merger would finally take place and, if it does, would remain unshaken by intra-party squabbles.