BAGLUNG-"It's much safer in Nepal," said senior Maoist leader Pampha Bhusal who managed to cross the border and reach Nepal safely after Indian police chased her in Patna a few months ago. Her comrades were arrested. Her sudden appearance in Baglung recently surprised everyone. She was moving around freely in Baglung's remote villages, delivering public speeches and meeting local political leaders and women's rights activists. Wearing a leather jacket, red scarf and a gun on her waist, Bhusal is campaigning against Mohan Singh Bikram, leader of United Centre-Masal. Not many know about Bhusal's position in the party. Recently she was involved in a scandal about her relationship with senior politburo member Badal, which is why she was unable to occupy a higher position in the Maoist party. "Finally I am able to meet you all," Bhusal says to the women activists of local NGOs. "It's wartime and we need to move." A few hours later, she walks off with Battalion 20 escorted by a female bodyguard. "It takes two hours to walk up that hill. Why don't you come up with us?" Bhusal asks me but I refuse and she quietly treks up the hill munching a packet of noodles. This is her fourth public appearance after going underground for over seven years.