Are things going wrong for Prachanda?

Why things go wrong, the Maoist chief Prachanda might have asked himself. Prachanda, whose original name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, wanted a major share in the new democratic republic regime at Kathmandu and everything was on right track. Hence, it was not abnormal at the initial stage, when his party (CPN-M) demanded both the posts of President and Prime Minister. But the Maoists, who run a bloody revolution for a decade killing thousands of Nepali, faced the heat of democracy, when the other political parties out rightly rejected their demand. The Maoists left claim for the Presidential post and stick to the post of an executive Prime Minister.

Even in the Vice-Presidential races, Maoists lost their faces. During the July 19 polls in the Constituent Assembly, their candidate lost to a Madhesi candidate. Paramananda Jha, a Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Madhesi People's Rights Forum) candidate, who was supported by other political parties as well, was elected as the first Vice-President of the Himalayan democracy. Jha bagged 305 votes in the 601-member Constituent Assembly and beat his nearest rival, the Maoists supported candidate, Shanta Shrestha.

Madhesis lives in South Nepal, which is adjacent to India and they emerged as a visible political power after the April 2008 polls, which provided the community an ample space for political bargaining with the Communist rebellions and other mainstream Nepali politicians. Possessing nearly 40% population of Nepal (total populace 27 million), Madhesis are primarily demanding an autonomous status in southern Nepal.

After the decade long armed movement by the Maoist rebels for ending the monarchy in Nepal, the country went for a general election in April 2008 and a Constituent Assembly was formed. In the Assembly polls, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won in 220 constituencies. The other left party named Communist Party of Nepal-United-Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) succeeded in 103 seats. The other major political party, Nepali Congress candidates won in 110 constitutions.

Nepal has gone for the final round of Presidential polls today to elect the Ceremonial Head of the country. The two front runners, emerged after the Saturday polls, are in the race and as mentioned earlier both are from Madhesi community having strong Indian connection.

The members of the Assembly will choose their President out of Ram Baran Yadav, 61 (supported by Nepali Congress, the second major political party after the rebellion Communists, Maoist) and Ram Raja Prasad Singh, 74 (backed by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist). In the polls, a candidate must receive 301 (or more) votes to be declared a winner for the post of President, who will officially replace the King in Nepal.

The local media reports that Yadav, a medical practitioner from Sapahi village in Indo-Nepal border locality, enjoys the advantage in Monday's crucial polls.

The Nepali Congress has already made an inherent alliance with CPN-UML and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum to confirm the defeat of Maoist backed candidate. They had already succeeded in defeating the Maoist candidate in the Vice-Presidential race. Now the NC-UML-MPRF alliance has planned to continue their tie-up, while fighting for the post of Chairman of the Constituent Assembly. Even Prachanda himself had come out terming the alliance of NC-UML-MPRF as 'unholy'.

The author is a Guwahati based journalist and he contributes articles for a number of newspapers and portals based in different parts of the globe. His special focus areas remain the socio-political developments in Northeast and India as a whole. He can be reached at navathakuria@gmail.com