KATHMANDU: The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who has led the party uninterruptedly for over three and a half decades, is not seen as ready to step down immediately.

Although he has admitted past mistakes, Dahal is not in favor of handing over leadership at this time. He continues to claim that the country has reached its current stage due to his ideas and policies, emphasizing the justification for leadership continuity.

After the Gen Z movement, Dahal was among the first senior leaders from old parties to publicly appear and has accelerated party activities.

As soon as he emerged from army security, he visited the party headquarters at Koteshwor Parisdanda, which had been set on fire during the Gen Z movement, on September 17.

Amid growing pressure on senior leaders to resign, many expected that old parties would now reform and that senior leaders would take rest. However, like other top leaders of the old parties, Dahal has not mentioned immediate party reform or restructuring.

On September 17, speaking to journalists at Parisdanda, he did not enter into the issue of how the party should be shaped, but instead talked about building a new and grand party office.

He said, “Now, with the support of all party members inside and outside the country, a grand new office building of the party will be constructed.”

On the eve of Constitution Day, September 18, he released a video message. On Friday, he organized a program at Parisdanda for Constitution Day.

Following the September 8-9 Gen Z movement, the demand for Dahal to step down resurfaced within the party. Deputy General Secretary Janardan Sharma, synthesizing the situation after the Gen Z movement, prepared a 16-point proposal calling for Dahal’s resignation.

Sharma has begun discussions with party leaders and workers regarding the proposal to restructure the party and its leadership. “The core leadership of the party must resign immediately, and clear policies must be made regarding which person holds which position and how many times,” the proposal stated.

After the 1986 ‘sector scandal,’ Mohan Baidya resigned as General Secretary of the CPN (Mashal), and Dahal became General Secretary in 1990.

Dahal has been leading the Maoist party since then. During the last meeting of the Standing Committee, Sharma had submitted a written proposal urging a leadership transition. Although discussed at the time, it was not passed.

After the Gen Z movement, Sharma reiterated the demand that Dahal step down, citing the new situation in the country and the party. Leaders advocating leadership change include Sharma, Ganesh Sah, Ram Karki, Sudan Kiranti, Shiva Kumar Mandal, Saral Sahayatri, Khagaraj Bhatta, and Jag Prasad Sharma.

The demand for an early special or regular general convention has emerged within the Maoist Centre. “Whether a special or regular general convention, it must happen soon. The chairman also seems ready for that, but he has not shown any intention to leave leadership yet,” said a party leader. Even if an election for leadership is held, Dahal could contest.

In his September 19 video message, Chairman Dahal claimed that the leadership transfer process has already started, but he remained silent on the framework and timeframe.

Maoist Centre Secretary Ganesh Sah stated that displacing the core leadership with the current structure is difficult. “The current party structure hinders restructuring,” he said. “Second-generation leaders have not gained national or international recognition. They have also not been able to struggle effectively.”

Within the party, leaders who praise Dahal with titles such as hero of the people’s war, constitution maker, and head of the republic hold sway.

On the other hand, those who disagreed with Dahal historically could not remain in the party. Leaders like Mohan Baidya, CP Gajurel, Baburam Bhattarai, Hisila Yami, Ram Bahadur Thapa, Netra Bikram Chand, Mani Thapa, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Bishwa Bhakta Dulal, Rabindra Shrestha, and Gopal Kiranti left while opposing him.

Justifying continuity

Following the Gen Z movement demanding change, the call for senior leaders to step down has been raised in all parties. Over the past 36 years, the Maoist party has gone through various political turns.

Whether underground during the Panchayat system or during the armed insurgency from 1996 and through the peace process of 2006, Dahal’s leadership has remained uninterrupted.

After the 1986 sector scandal, Mohan Baidya resigned as General Secretary of CPN (Mashal), and Dahal became General Secretary in 1990. After the failure of armed revolt policies, Baidya proposed reducing the responsibility of his team one by one and appointed Dahal as General Secretary.

Since then, through CPN (Unity Centre), CPN (Maoist), Unified CPN (Maoist), and finally CPN (Maoist Centre), Dahal has led the party continuously.

Although he has continuously held power in both the party and state, Dahal has neither conducted self-criticism nor planned leadership transfer even after such a massive movement.

Currently, Dahal believes that if he exits politics, not only the party but the country might collapse. On August 20, at a Kathmandu program, he claimed that he remains a key figure in the country’s politics even without leading the government.

“Although I am not currently leading the government and am only the leader of the main opposition party, it feels as if the country’s political foundation will collapse if I leave. It feels like the entire responsibility rests on my shoulders,” he said.

Reflecting the changed circumstances, Dahal is prepared to act as a stabilizing figure. This tendency was also observed after the Gen Z movement.

He claimed to have facilitated a solution to the situation that emerged after the movement. “There was an attempt to annul the constitution and remove the president. Ultimately, I facilitated to save the constitution,” he said at the Parisdanda event.

Recently, Dahal’s statements appear contradictory. While admitting past mistakes, he also asserts that the country has reached the current situation due to the demands he has raised.

In the video message released on September 19, he acknowledged mistakes. “We have made mistakes. Our ideas and policies were not wrong, but in practice, we erred. Our previously vibrant relationships with social classes and communities have, in some ways, broken,” Dahal said.

He expressed sorrow for the families of martyrs, the disappeared, and victims of torture, claiming that he struggled to meet their expectations, yet he did not outline how to address the mistakes and weaknesses.

Since the promulgation of the constitution in 2015, he has been a key player in power. He admitted that agreements were necessary due to coalitions, which was a mistake. Over the last decade, Dahal has been the main actor in forming and breaking coalitions.

He claims to hold the “magic number” in power. He stated, “I never had enough numbers to lead the government alone, and coalition politics has, in some way, made us weak.” Dahal was Prime Minister for 18 months after the second House of Representatives election, during which he changed partners three times.

Although he admitted mistakes in the September 19 video message, the following day, during Constitution Day at the party headquarters, he said that the demands raised during the Gen Z movement align with demands he had raised previously.

Even after being in continuous power in both party and government, he has neither conducted self-criticism nor planned leadership transfer.

Dahal continues to claim that he is still the most suitable person for party leadership.