Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: CPN (Maoist Center), which was victorious in 36 first past the post (FPTP) seats in 2017, succeeded in winning only 18 in the November 20 polls.
Its total tally, including 14 proportional representation (PR) seats, will be only 32 compared to 51 in 2017. The party performed badly in the election despite forming an electoral alliance of five parties. The alliance had allotted the party 47 seats under the FPTP system. But it could win only 17.
The Maoist Center couldn’t perform well in the province assembly elections as well. It won a total of 53 province assembly setas – nine in Province 1, four in Madhesh, 14 in Bagmati, four in Lumbini, nine in Karnali and eight in Sudurpashchim. It couldn’t become the largest party in any province.
The Maoist Center has termed the election results ‘unsatisfactory’. In the meeting of the leaders of the coalition partners held on Monday, Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed dissatisfaction over the non-transfer of Nepali Congress votes to candidates of other parties, according to a leader of the ruling coalition.
In the coalition meeting, Dahal said that he should be allowed to lead the government for two years. “Maoist support base has shrunk over the years. But Dahal’s attitude is no different than the insurgency days,” the leader said. He is playing the same hardball that he used to play with then NC president Girija Prasad Koirala after the end of the Maoist insurgency, the leader said. Tired of Dahal’s antics, the NC is also studying the possibility of forming a government without Maoist, say NC leaders.
“There exists a possibility of forming the government by keeping UML and Maoist in the opposition. If the Maoist Center continues to stake its claim on government leadership, it may not get a chance to join the government. The party is discussing the issue,” the NC leader said.
NC leaders believe it is possible to form the government with CPN (Unified Socialist), Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) if the Maoist decides against supporting the NC to form the government.
Under the package deal, Maoist can get the post of Vice President and Speaker, he added. “If the Maoist does not agree, other parties will get these posts. NC will take the posts of President and Prime Minister and share other posts with other parties,” he added.
NC leaders believe it is possible to form the government with CPN (Unified Socialist), Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) if the Maoist decides against supporting the NC to form the government.
NC will have the support of 143 lawmakers if RSP, RPP and Janamat Party agree to join the ruling coalition. RSP and RPP have not yet decided about joining the government, while Janamat Party is positive about joining the government.
However, some NC leaders fear left forces will become stronger if both NC and Maoist are kept in the opposition. Earlier also, NC suffered a lot due to the unification of these two left parties. NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba got the chance to lead the government only after the two parties split. To avoid repeating similar situations again, NC leaders are doing their best to appease the Maoist Center.
Now that the final results of the November 20 polls have been published, ruling coalition partners have intensified the discussion on government formation. According to NC Spokesperson Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, informal discussions are also ongoing. He said efforts are underway to make the coalition strong. “Preparations are on to strengthen the coalition at the local level,” he said.
Responding to another query on whether Maoist chairman Dahal has proposed to lead the government first, Mahat said: “Everybody can show the desire (to become PM). It all depends on what the people’s opinion is.”
Maoist vice chairman Krishna Bahadur Mahara earlier this week said the meeting of the party’s office-bearers held on Saturday decided to hold discussions with all political parties to form the government under chairman Dahal’s leadership.
But party general secretary Dev Prasad Gurung countered Mahara’s claims after one day. Gurung maintained that the Maoist Center was not seeking an alternative to the five-party coalition. Since the Maoist attended the ruling coalition’s meetings on Monday, it can be expected that the coalition will now continue further.
Public opinion also suggests that the country needs only one mainstream communist party.
Discussion on the significance of Maoist Center
Of late, the Nepali communist movement is tilting toward right-wing dictatorship. Experts say this is the characteristic of the KP Oli-led UML. The Dahal-led Maoist Center is no different. Therefore, people have started saying whether the country really needs Maoist Center.
Public opinion also suggests that the country needs only one mainstream communist party. The fact that UML, which contested the election alone, topped the list of PR votes, while Maoist languished in the third position substantiates this argument.
“Why is there a need for another UML? UML is a communist party with right-wing characteristics. Maoist with the same characteristic isn’t needed anymore,” analyst Mumaram Khanal, who has studied Maoist politics for a long time, said.
Khanal said the decision to join hands with the Nepali Congress following the promulgation of the constitution is the reason for the Maoists’ downfall. The electoral alliance with NC in the November 20 polls showed there is no need for Maoist Center, Khanal added.
