Bhattarai accuses Prachanda of misusing Maoist legacy for personal power

Kathmandu, October 30 — Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, coordinator of the Nepal Samajwadi Party (Naya Shakti), commented that it would be more appropriate to refer to the CPN (Maoist Centre) as “Prachandite” rather than “Maoist.”

In a post on Facebook, he stated that the current situation arose after Prachanda, who has ideologically and culturally deteriorated, transformed a movement and party with revolutionary essence and history into a tool for his personal parliamentary power interests.

Bhattarai noted that the Maoist movement, despite some inherent weaknesses, was one of the most revolutionary and transformative movements that led to the establishment of the modern Nepalese state. He highlighted that with the promulgation of the federal democratic republic constitution by the Constituent Assembly in 2015, the historic responsibilities of that movement were fulfilled.

He wrote, "It would be more suitable to refer to the faction led by Prachanda as 'Prachandite' rather than 'Maoist.' The Maoist movement, despite certain natural weaknesses, has already completed its historical tasks and legitimacy with the promulgation of the federal democratic republic constitution on September 20, 2015. However, Prachanda's ideological and cultural decay has led to the downfall of that movement and party, which had revolutionary essence and history, as he turned it into a means for his personal parliamentary interests."

Bhattarai accused Prachanda of causing the current state of affairs, claiming that after the constitution was issued, it was essential to transform the new socialist movement and party to address new economic and social responsibilities. 

He pointed out that the parliamentary seats for Prachanda's party are 30, not 32, as claimed. He clarified that in the 2022 elections, two seats won by candidates from the Nepal Samajwadi Party (NSP) using a common election symbol were claimed by Prachanda through legal loopholes. He also stated that the significant votes in the Gorkha and Sarlahi constituencies were primarily from NSP.