Who would have thought that Nepal’s two largest communist parties, poles apart ideologically and sniping constantly, would unite? Especially when one of them was still in bed with a third party.
But they did. The announced move towards unification of the UML and Maoists was such a tectonic shift in Nepali politics that it is still causing aftershocks, with the NC trying to cobble together an anti-left coalition including not just Madhesi parties but also rightists, royalists and pro-Hindu parties.
Analyst Narendra Jung Peter says the marriage of the UML and Maoists is so weak it is bound to end in divorce. “They made a mistake in haste, and will repent at leisure,” he quips. All these years, the UML denounced the insurgency by the Maoists, who in turn belittled the UML’s philosophy of ‘People’s Multi-Party Democracy’.
Of late, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal had been accusing UML Chair KP Oli of being ‘casteist’ and working against Madhesi, Janajati and other marginalised people. For his part, Oli has often slammed Dahal for breaking their alliance at India’s behest.
When they decided to unite, therefore, the cadres of both parties were left utterly confused. “Did Dahal admit that the Maoist war, as argued by the UML, was a crime? Did Oli admit that he, as accused by Maoists, only serves the interests of the hill elite?” Peter asked rhetorically.