Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Discontent has deepened within the CPN (Maoist Center).
Rifts within the party came to the surface after Deputy General Secretary Janardan Sharma boycotted a party meeting on Sunday, expressing disagreement with party supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal over the issue of party unification.
According to Maoist Center Spokesperson Agni Prasad Sapkota, Sharma did not attend Sunday’s Secretariat meeting.
Party leaders say Sharma has opposed the proposal to merge the Maoist Center with other leftist parties, including the CPN (Unified Socialist).
The Unified Socialist on Friday made an official decision to merge with the Maoist Center and other left parties. Unified Socialist has reportedly set removal of ‘Maoist’ from the merged party name as a condition for the merger.
Sharma has consistently maintained that the word “Maoist” should not be removed from the party’s name.
Party sources said the proposed name for the unified force is Nepal Communist Party (Socialist) — a move that has intensified differences between Dahal and Sharma.
The establishment faction has accused Sharma of engaging in “anarchic activities”. During Saturday’s meeting, Sharma reportedly walked out midway after expressing his views. This drew criticism from Dahal who was chairing the meeting.
“He presented his opinion and then walked out. That is not an appropriate way to conduct oneself,” Dahal said after the meeting. “We should stay and discuss issues, not leave midway.”
Dahal also dismissed as baseless the allegations that the party is abandoning Maoism and attempting to postpone its general convention.
According to Spokesperson Sapkota, Sunday’s meeting decided to hold a joint meeting on November 6 with the parties joining the unification process to finalize the organizational structure of the new party.
Before that, the Maoist Center’s Central Committee will meet on November 4 to endorse the decision to unify.
The Secretariat meeting also discussed internal organizational issues, policy and ideological matters, and the process for registering the new party after unification, according to Sapkota.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Sapkota said party unification is now an “objective necessity”. “The country has never faced a crisis of this scale before. Therefore, unity among like-minded forces has become inevitable,” he said.
Sapkota also dismissed claims that the merger is intended to strengthen Dahal’s political position.
