National 2 (Spotlight Weekly)

Crucial Conclave

The seventh convention of the largest mainstream communist party assumes much significance amid the fast-paced political developments in the country

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Until the final results are made public, nobody can easily predict the future leaders of the country's largest political party. It seemed, till the filing of this article on Tuesday (February 4) afternoon, that the general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal would retain his position. After the party convention early this week endorsed Nepal's political and organizational proposals, his bete noire K.P. Sharma Oli and Bam Dev Gautam seemed to have lost their claim to the party leadership.

Nepal, who has been in the driving seat of the largest mainstream communist party of Nepal for the last 25 years, cleverly maneuvered the party's members in favor of his proposal even this time around. Although his strength will still be tested in the issue of constitutional amendment, it is almost certain that Nepal's proposal will be endorsed again by overwhelming majority of the communist cadres. After the death of late Madan Bhandari in 1994, Nepal took over the reins and had been in charge as the general secretary. In the last ten years, many efforts were made to unseat him, but Nepal has been able to retain his position.

If he succeeds to secure his position this time as well, Nepal will be the first general secretary of the communist party of Nepal to be at the center of power for such a long time and his rivals in the party will not have options other than to compromise with him

When comrades of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) sat through marathon closed-door sessions early this week in Janakpur, their mind strayed to issue outside the conference agenda.

The dramatic cease-fire announcement by the Maoists and the government caught almost all political parties by surprise. The swift political development and its ramifications would be felt closely by all of them, particularly the UML. The truce was announced just two days before the UML's seventh general convention kicked off on February 1 in the eastern Terai city of Janakpur, casting a long shadow on the party agenda.

Even as comrades engaged in closed-door sessions to work out ways of patching up differences over the party structure and other matters, their focus was on how the party should act in the changing national context.

At a time when the UML had been portraying itself as the alternative to liberal forces like the Nepali Congress (NC), the latest development, which could see the rebels emerging from the jungles and taking part in mainstream politics, could seriously erode the support base of UML.

In the past, the UML had been juggling, quite successfully according to political analysts, its role as a powerful mainstream party and its communist credentials in the post-Cold-War international era. But the "people's war" declared by the Maoists had hijacked the radical agenda from the UML, leaving it exposed before the hardcore communist cadres who still swear by Marx and Lenin more than anything else.

The following years saw many UML cadres deserting the party to join the radical movement launched by Maoists. Even then, the increasing popularity of UML among urban masses, its acceptance among international donors, who constitute a vital force in a developing country like Nepal, ensured that the party not only survived but also prospered. "If the party had not suffered the bitter split five years ago, it would have even formed a majority government," said one leftist analyst.

The confidence in the party was evident when it jumped to accept then-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's decision to hold snap polls last year. "However, the cease-fire between the Maoists and the government may affect the UML in many ways. If its leadership is not prudent and far-sighted enough, the party would lose in the long run," said the analyst.

The leadership chosen by the seventh general convention now has to decide on the party's future course, taking into consideration the consequences of a successful cease-fire agreement in the country.

"Though there is much skepticism about the success of the current cease-fire as well, the party leaders cannot afford to discount the possibility. Hence, they have to thoroughly discuss and chart a new course for the party," said one central leader of the UML.

The challenges before the UML leadership are manifold. It has to choose a new leadership and guide the party on the current debate on the ways of resolving the country's problem, particularly the Maoist insurgency. The UML leaders will now have to give their clear-cut viewpoint on the demands of the Maoists like the roundtable conference, interim government and election to constituent assembly. Although, the Janakpur convention decided to keep all options open before the party, resolving knotty issues like election of constituent assembly is sure to haunt its leadership in the days to come.

Besides, the UML also will have to chalk out strategies to launch joint movement with other parties like the NC. The other parties are waiting for the UML's convention to launch what they call joint movement against "regressive" assaults.

Five years after the sixth general convention in Nepalgunj, when the party had to undergo a bitter split, the seventh general convention took place with 1,000 elected representatives taking part in the five-day conclave.

The seventh convention, too, was not free from dissension and differences. The battle for the leadership of the party intensified in the run up the Janakpur conference. The warring factions - one led by general secretary Nepal and the other by Oli - upped their ante. Oli made a serious contest for the party leadership by presenting a different political paper and demanding that the present structure revert to the hierarchy led by the presidency, which was abolished after founding president Manmohan Adhikary died. Nepal and his team contested that reverting to the presidential system would give rise to multiple power centers within the party.

A former home minister and a good orator who enjoys popularity among a large section of UML cadres, Oli even challenged the efficiency of the leadership provided by Nepal, who has been the party's general secretary for the last 10 years. "Ten years is enough for anybody to show his or her talent. Since he could not do anything spectacular for the party, it is time he stepped aside," Oli said a few weeks ago.

In such a situation, the seventh general convention, which should have been an event for celebration, is turning out to be quite the opposite. After the bitter split it suffered in the sixth convention, the party was gradually overcoming the pain. The splinter Marxist-Leninist party had returned to the fold exactly a year ago. But the fresh contest for leadership has reopened the wounds.

This widening of the party's fault-lines could be particularly dangerous at a time when political events in the country appear to be changing fast. "If the party is unable to understand the current political developments, it could be overtaken by events. But if it actually makes prudent choices and does not falter from addressing the issues dear to the Nepalese people, it still has a bright future in the country's political spectrum," said the analyst.

The seventh convention of the UML would be remembered as crucial, coming as it did at a time when the country is in unprecedented crisis.