As soon as it was confirmed that the government would be deploying the army in Maoist-affected areas, the Maoists panicked and held an emergency meeting in Chitwan. The meeting was held some time last week and lasted two days. After the attacks in Rukum and Dailekh, the government became very serious and realised there was no alternative to deploying the army. The king, too, has agreed to the deployment, in principle. As soon as the Maoists got wind of the decision to deploy the army, they began moving and called an emergency meeting. They had guessed the army would be deployed after the Rukum and Dailekh incidents. Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai in the meantime met many people supposed to be very close to the Palace. They did this in a desperate attempt to stave off the deployment of the army. The Maoists realised a long time ago that they would only be successful in their mission if they could create a fissure between the palace and the government. As soon as they realised that the king had also agreed to deploying the army, they became scared. This decision of the government has put the Maoists on alert.