Narayan Upadhyay

With intra-party crisis reaching a new nadir, the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has stared at a possible split. Many rounds of dialogues held between the two chairpersons and other top stalwarts have so far failed to produce desired results. Amidst the deepening crisis, the chairmen duo has remained busy holding parleys among their confidants to find the peremptory ways to nullify the 'moves' of others. 
The issue of possible break-up received widespread coverage after Prime Minister and party chair KP Sharma Oli reportedly 'advised' the party co-chair, Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda’, to break the party through mutual understanding. With this advice, the PM hinted he was ready to opt for a break-up if the latter kept on 'intimidating' and coercing him for various positions in the party, cabinet and government departments. Following the latest meeting between the two chairpersons, the party's general secretary, Bishnu Paudel tweeted that all was not well with the ruling party as it stared at a likely split now. 

Last Straw
The crisis in the NCP-headed Karnali State government has become the last straw because it divided the two chairpersons, sending the ruling political dispensation on the verge of a split. A group of the state lawmakers, allegedly the loyalists of PM Oli, had a few weeks ago registered the no-confidence motion against the state Chief Minister, a former Maoist party leader and a confidant of Prachanda, creating a hubbub in the party that has already been wading through troubles following the disputes on different internal issues.  
The recent cabinet reshuffle, the appointment of ambassadors and the meeting of the Prime Minister with the director of the Indian intelligence agency, RAW, prodded the Prachanda-led faction to make rancours against the PM and his working style. Following these episodes, reports said Prachanda did not meet with the PM for more than ten days. And when they met last Saturday, all hell broke loose. Apart from 'telling Prachanda to break the party on mutual understanding , Oli reportedly told Prachanda that he would not accept any decision foisted on him through any meeting of the party's Secretariat or Standing Committee. Oli further told his co-chair he would not call the meeting of the party's vital organs as asked by Prachanda.
A piece of news doing the round suggests that the group of former UML leaders in the NCP has mobilised its leaders for bringing senior leaders into the fold to consolidate its position against the former Maoists led by Prachanda. Senior leaders and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalnath Khanal and senior leader Bam Dev Gautam have sided with Prachanda in the latest round of factional tiff. 
These three former UML leaders have become pivotal for Prachanda in the party to stake his claim for the posts of PM, minister, ambassador and other lucrative appointments his supporters. Rivals in the party criticised Oli for overlooking their urges, grudges and grievances and failed to respect the idea of 60: 40: ratio sharing of all positions in the party, cabinet and government departments among the functionaries of former UML and Maoist Centre.
The crack in the ruling party had appeared soon after the new government under Oli was formed after the unified NCP won near two-thirds majority in the parliamentary elections held in 2017. After a few months, Prachanda leaked the points of the gentleman's agreement reached between Oli and him as per which both chairpersons would share the PM's and the party chair's posts for an equal period.
Since then, Prachanda and his group have been egging on Oli to hand over him the PM's position as per the deal. However, Oli was and still is confident that he would complete his five-year tenure as PM and party co-chair. After the NCP had reached the verge of a breakup last month following severe strain, Oli had agreed to grant full executive rights to Prachanda as chairperson. However, that did not happen as he continued to have his say in the government and the party, which is reflected in the cabinet reshuffle and the ambassadorial appointment.  Following this, Prachanda has been left to play the second fiddle. 
No one would be surprised if the latest round of conflicts among the party top brasses reaches down to the party’ local and state workers and bodies. Unless serious fence-mending is carried out between the two opponents, the party cannot defer the impending break-up for good. A section of the NCP leaders who are behind keeping the party unity intact has rued over the missed opportunities. The ruling party could have won brownie points had it extended its support to its government. The NCP government is the one in many years that raised the hope of giving stability to the government by completing its full tenure. The likely break-up will rob the NCP government of achieving this milestone. 
In case the party breaks up, the two breakaway groups are likely to seek the support of the main opposition, Nepali Congress and Madhesh-based party to remain in the government. In such a scenario, the Nepali politics will fall back on its old days when governments came to the helms only for short tenures, as parties had then lacked a majority in the parliament to enjoy full terms. Instability may rule the roost.

Tough time
The nation at present is passing through a tough time, as the coronavirus pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the lives of common people and the resources of the government. The parties of all hues and stripes should jointly fight the common foe - the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the intra-party infighting and rivalry in the ruling dispensation have stopped the party in giving its best shots in curbing the virus spread and offering appropriate solace to the badly-hit people and the nation.
Many allege that the virus has raged in the nation as the government has not performed well to negotiate the difficulties posed by it, partially due to the infighting in the ruling party. This is indeed not a time to engage in infighting and rivalry. The leaders of the ruling party, no matter which group they belong, should extend their support to the government in dealing with the grave pandemic situation. A break-up in the party and the ensuing fluid political situation would only worsen the situation.

(Upadhyay is Deputy Executive Editor of The Rising Nepal. Nara.upadhyay@gmail.com)