'Maoist with People' campaign faces delays

Kathmandu, February 16 — The ruling party, CPN (Maoist Center), has encountered delays in the preparation for its upcoming "Maoist with People" campaign, centered on the Postal Highway, set to begin on February 24.

The delay is due to the central  leadership not yet sending the schedule to the concerned provinces, causing uncertainty in the planning process.

On February 9, the party sent a circular to its local committees with decisions from a meeting. However, as of now, the schedule has not been communicated to the provinces, leading to confusion.

Kosi Province Chair, Harka Bahadur Nembang, informed that discussions are ongoing with the party leadership about finalizing the schedule and that a draft might be ready by evening.

Lumbini Province Chair Sudarshan Baral also stated that due to the lack of a schedule from the center, they were unable to prepare the details for the event.

The uncertainty over dates and locations has caused delays, but he mentioned discussions with party leader Prachanda are underway, and once the schedule is received, preparations will be made accordingly.

Ganeshman Pun, the chief secretary of the central office, confirmed that a meeting will be held in the next one or two days to finalize the schedule and other details of the campaign.

The final decisions regarding responsibilities, locations, and duration will be based on discussions with the concerned provinces.

The central committee's decision on January 7 had outlined starting the campaign from Jhapa along the Postal Highway and extending to Kanchanpur.

The specific structure and program details of the campaign were to be decided based on consultations with the provincial offices.

Maoist secretary Devendra Paudel clarified that Chairman Prachanda would personally attend large rallies, while other leaders would be assigned responsibility for smaller gatherings.

The campaign is expected to resemble a previous three-month-long outreach program, including meetings with the public, listening to grievances, interacting with martyr families, and strengthening the organization.