Kathmandu, April 17: Former Prime Minister and coordinator of the Nepal Communist Party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prachanda has claimed that going to elections was never his party’s agenda.
Prachanda, who had earlier insisted that he worked hard to protect the constitution during the September Gen Z movement, has now revised his stance. Speaking at a central coordination committee meeting held Thursday at the party’s central office in Paris Danda, he clarified his previous remarks while responding to questions from members.
During the meeting, party leaders criticized the leadership for pushing ahead with elections despite an unfavorable political environment following the Gen Z movement. In the election held on March 5, the party secured only 17 seats. Among the top leaders, only Prachanda and Barshaman Pun managed to win.
According to leader Devendra Paudel, Prachanda admitted that the decision to go to elections was not driven by the party but was influenced by President Ram Chandra Paudel.
“We did not want to go to elections. The dissolution of Parliament was also not our doing. The President proposed dissolving Parliament and moving toward elections to resolve the crisis, and we were compelled to support it,” Paudel quoted Prachanda as saying.
At the meeting, Prachanda also spoke about party transformation and the need for broader left unity. He stressed that the party must first strengthen itself through its general convention before pursuing unity and polarization among leftist forces.
“In the current situation, broader left unity is necessary. But before that, the party must be strengthened through transformation,” Paudel said, quoting Prachanda.
Prachanda further emphasized the need for cooperation and alliance-building among forces aligned with the 12-point agreement. Co-coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal supported Prachanda’s view, adding that decisions on left unity should not be rushed.
The meeting was adjourned after both the coordinator and co-coordinator presented their views. The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday at 11 am, where decisions on leadership responsibilities and upcoming programs are expected.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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