Know how Dahal and Bhattarai agreed to join hands

KATHMANDU, Aug 16: Bishwadeep Pandey, head of the publicity department of Nepal Samajbadi Party-led by Babu Ram Bhattarai gets a call on August 5 from Janardan Sharma, Finance Minister and leader of CPN (Maoist Center).

“We tried hard to convince Bhattarai but failed. I have a proposal and he listens to you. You have to convince him,” Sharma says to Pandey.

Sharma proposes unity between two parties for the upcoming general elections.

“It is difficult to change party’s name and election symbols when the general election is on our door steps. So, for now, let's join hands until polls and carry out other procedures of unification after polls,” Sharma said.

After receiving  a phone call from Sharma, Pandey contacts Bhattarai and tells him about the proposal. However, Bhattari does not seem positive toward the proposal and says that it will be a surrender.

At the end, Pandey convinces Bhattari to hold at least a meeting with Sharma. Pandey then arranges a meeting between Bhahttarai and Sharma at Chandragiri. 

“If Chair Dahal and you stood together then it will send a good message to our voters and will be a crucial move in our socialist movement,” Sharma tells Bhattarai.

“We believe that we cannot join hands with CPN (MC). It will be a lengthy process. Let’s form a unity coordination committee, go to elections with functional unity and announce unification after polls on the day we change the party’s name,” Bhattari says on his part. 

The two leaders discuss for more than an hour but fail to reach a decision.

The next day, Bhattari and Pandey hold a meeting with Ganga Shrestha and discuss Sharma’s proposal. Three leaders agreed on going to the election, forging a functional unity with the CPN (Maoist Center) , forming a unity coordination committee.

The two parties then meet at Hattiban after Maoist Center’s Chair Dahal returns from Japan. But, the meeting ends without making any sort of decisions. Leaders then suggest Bhattari and Dahal to hold a ‘one to one’ meeting and two leaders meet the next day accordingly at Khumaltar.

“I joined hands with CPN-UML. You also went through a lot of things trying to be established as an alternative power in the country. We both failed and learned lessons. So, now, let’s join hands. For now, let’s contest the upcoming election by preparing the same election manifesto and using the same election symbol. We can change the party’s name after elections,” Dahal proposed to Bhattarai.

Two leaders agree and the meeting ends.

With this, the Bhattari-led Nepal Samajbadi Party is now all set to contest the upcoming general election using the election symbol of CPN (Maoist Center).