BIKRAM RAI

Half way through the extended CA term, the peace process and constitution drafting is being delayed by a seemingly intractable intra-party feud within the Maoists.

Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who had been grappling with other parties ever since he resigned as prime minister in May 2009, now has to deal with intense pressure from within his party. There is a three-way personality clash within the Maoists, and a feeling that Dahal has wielded too much power for too long. The goal of cutting Dahal down to size has made Baburam Bhattarai and Mohan Baidya unlikely allies.

The Bhattarai-Baidya alliance threatens to unseat Dahal from parliamentary party leadership. Currently, Dahal is the party Chairman, parliamentary party leader, organisational head as well as the commander of the PLA. The central committee meeting has been put off for nearly three weeks now, and Dahal loyalists still command a majority in the central committee.

Ram Karki, who is close to Bhattarai, says the real rift is over party structure, not ideology. "This is the largest party, so if the problems persist it will ultimately have repercussions for the peace process," he says.

Dahal's detractors want devolution of the chairman's power, and have also been critical of corruption and the extravagant lifestyle of the party leadership. Dahal is squeezed by the opposition piling pressure for integration of ex-fighters on the one hand, and by his own rank and file on the other.

The NC and the UML, for their part, feel the Maoists are trying to dictate terms on the numbers of fighters to be integrated into the Nepal Army. "Although, we have agreed to consider relaxing age limit, educational qualification and entry of married women combatants, there can be no compromise on the physical eligibility criteria set by the Nepal Army," the UML's Pradeep Gyawali told us.

The NC's Arjun Narasingh KC says: "The Maoists have a split personality; there is a big gap between their public statements and their actions." He has counted the number of times the Maoists have committed to return seized property (18) and to disband the YCL (12). Says KC: "They just don't walk the talk."

Caught between the intra-party dispute and an interrupted peace process, the ball is now in Dahal's court. He has an enormous responsibility, not only to bring together a bitterly divided party but also to end the political stalemate that threatens a constitutional void in August.

Anurag Acharya

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The clock is ticking, ANURAG ACHARYA
The Maoists have less than two months to resolve their internal rift and restart the peace process