On Monday the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) held its secretariat meeting that took seven important decisions. Party chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, who chaired the meeting, indicated that he really holds the executive powers of the party. Prime Minister and another chair K.P. Sharma Oli was absent in the meeting as he was taking rest after undergoing an operation of his appendicitis.
PM Oli has been saying that the NCP has two pilots to operate the jumbo party with over 800,000 members. But he is naturally senior to Prachanda given that he used to lead the largest party, the erstwhile CPN-UML, from which came 500,000 members. Prachanda, considered to be a co-pilot, faces challenges should he step into the role of a captain. Generally, co-pilot works under the instruction of the chief pilot. Will Prachanda follow the instructions of Oli to mobilise the gigantic party composed of cadres groomed in opposite ideology?
It is an uphill task for Prachanda to take former UML’s workers into confidence and win their respect. This requires managerial ability but Prachanda is criticised for his mercurial character. The former UML had strong organisational base down to the grassroots. The NCP has yet to accomplish emotional unity as it has the leaders and cadres from different backgrounds and schoolings. Many ex-UML cadres find it difficult to accept Prachanda as a consensus leader. Another puzzling question is: How can two chairs exercise their executive powers simultaneously to achieve the common goals?
Nonetheless, the secretariat meeting decided to amend the party statute to overcome hurdles to the unification process and spell out unambiguous ideological position. The party is going to create the post of vice-chair to adjust stalwart Bam Dev Gautam, who had lost the election to the House of Representatives in 2017. Gautam is known as an ambitious leader and has developed good relations with Prachanda when PM Oli had failed to meet his demands. But now he is being awarded the coveted position with Oli’s consent. With Gautam’s induction into the top post, the NCP power circle will come into full play.
(from The Rising Nepal)
