KATHMANDU: Maoist Center Deputy General Secretary Janardhan Sharma has proposed a significant shift in party leadership.
Sharma has suggested that the party’s leadership should be transferred to the “third generation” while Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda retaining his role as a guardian figure.
To facilitate this transition, Sharma has proposed dissolving the current central committee and forming a conference organizing committee chaired by Chairman Prachanda.
This committee would oversee the election of new leadership through a direct voting process.
Sharma presented this proposal during a Standing Committee meeting last week, accompanied by a 14-page document.
In this document, Sharma emphasized the need for increased awareness to adapt to new circumstances and proposed transitioning leadership as a way to honor past contributions while promoting new leadership.
“The remaining time should be used to cement Chairman Prachanda’s contributions, ensuring his role and responsibilities in ideological work and leadership. The organizational leadership should be entrusted to a person of his choosing,” Sharma stated.
“Neoliberal capitalism and socialism are fundamentally incompatible. We must be clear about what changes are needed in policies, plans, and structures, and how these changes should be implemented,” he said.
Under Sharma’s proposal, Chairman Prachanda would focus on ideological guidance and power as a protector, while current officials would serve as advisors.
These advisors would handle departmental duties, monitoring, evaluation, and training, while passing on executive leadership to the next generation.
Sharma also suggested that the existing central committee be dissolved, and a date for the convention should be set to elect new leadership via direct elections.
He also criticized the current leadership model, describing a shift from collective to individual leadership within the Maoist Center.
He referred to this as a “reverse direction” for the party, noting that wartime collective thought synthesis had been replaced by individual leadership, deviating from the party’s original collective approach.
He argued that, following the peace agreement, the party’s organizational structure has not evolved accordingly.
Sharma labeled the current hierarchical system as contradictory to the central principles of collective leadership, with a tendency to avoid moral responsibility for poor performance.
Sharma also questioned the Maoist Center’s commitment to socialism, criticizing the party’s abstract and ineffective slogans.
He argued that while the party has maintained neoliberal policies, its socialist rhetoric has failed to resonate with the public, leading to ideological confusion.
Sharma also emphasized the need for the party to integrate its organizational units into productive entities and politically educate its members with ideological clarity.
According to Sharma, the Maoist Center has neglected these tasks, resulting in a significant gap between its socialist aims and the prevailing neoliberal policies.
Sharma noted that the Maoist Center’s primary tasks during the peace process included finalizing the constitution and addressing truth-telling, reconciliation, and disappearance issues.
With recent agreements among the major parties to complete these processes, Sharma expressed hope that these tasks would soon be accomplished.
Sharma criticized the Maoist Center for its declining public support and organizational strength.
He stated, “Today, we have lost our base and organization, apart from our constitutional framework. Beyond a few limited achievements, we have little to show and no original development model.”
Sharma lamented that as the party’s agendas are being overshadowed, it is alienating the classes, castes, and communities that once supported it, while failing to engage the urban population.
He continued, “During the 2064 BS elections, we secured a majority with 120 seats, but we have lost almost all those supporters. We are moving towards irrelevance. The 31 million votes we received in the first parliamentary elections have dwindled, and despite an increase in the total number of voters in subsequent elections, our numbers continue to shrink by 1.4 million, then 1.1 million.”
Sharma noted that current party members are dissatisfied, but he acknowledged that the existing leadership is prepared to take responsibility.
He attributed the party’s decline not to the people but to unmet promises and ineffective slogans.
He criticized the party’s behavior post-peace process, likening it to its wartime conduct and suggesting that leaders live opulently.
“Our conduct since the peace process has not changed from the wartime era. Our public relations are flawed, and our leaders’ lifestyles resemble those of kings and queens,” Sharma stated.
He questioned the leaders’ detachment from the grassroots and their limited engagement with broader society.
Sharma emphasized the need for the party to shift its focus to production and job creation, but expressed frustration that his proposals on this matter have not been heard within the party.
He remarked, “There was no response to the proposal regarding this issue.”
He also highlighted the failure to institutionalize and stabilize the constitutional and political system through economic, social, and cultural transformation.
Sharma criticized the lack of progress in land reform and management, stating, “A clear policy on land was not developed, and the land and agricultural sectors were neglected.”
Sharma observed that respect for diverse opinions within the party is diminishing, collective discussion has weakened, and familialism is weakening the party’s structure.
He pointed out that the party’s budget and plans have not aligned with the socialist orientation outlined in the constitution.
Despite having control at the federal, state, and local levels, Sharma criticized the party’s inability to effectively govern.
“Even though we hold positions in the government, we have failed to transform constitutional and governmental organs to benefit the people,” he said.
According to Sharma, respect for differing opinions within the party is eroding, and the practice of collective discussion in line with communist principles has weakened.
He attributed this decline to the pervasive influence of familyism from the top down, which he believes is undermining the party’s strength.
Sharma also noted that rumors suggesting a potential party split are being spread to deflect attention from critical internal discussions and debates about the party’s shortcomings.
He argued, “Instead of adhering to proper conduct and procedures, a culture of fear, threats, and stigmatization has emerged. It appears that even state power has been misused to exacerbate these issues.”
Maoist leader Sharma further criticized the party for failing to establish a functioning system and organization due to violations of party management values, methods, and procedures, resulting in confusion during committee formations.
Deputy General Secretary Sharma also outlined a 16-point proposal aimed at party development.
Sharma also proposed developing policy plans and leadership for municipalities won by the party, aiming to turn them into models of production, employment, poverty reduction, educational reform, social justice, service delivery, and good governance based on local characteristics.
His has emphasized the need to define the socialist-oriented economy and objectives as envisioned by the constitution.
Sharma argued that the party must also clarify its stance on the neoliberal economy that has dominated state policy for the past four and a half decades.
“Neoliberal capitalism and socialism are fundamentally incompatible. We must be clear about what changes are needed in policies, plans, and structures, and how these changes should be implemented,” he said.
Having concluded that federalism has not been effectively promoted or implemented, Sharma proposed that the provincial councils of ministers be limited to a maximum of 10 members.
He suggested, “To prevent the arbitrary addition of ministers, the size of the Council of Ministers should be reduced, depending on the number of MPs.”
Sharma stressed the need for public vigilance to protect and implement the fundamental rights outlined in the Constitution.
He proposed preparing for potential struggles in the event of constitutional amendments that might regress the progress made.
Additionally, he suggested creating programs to build public opinion on various issues, including a directly elected executive head, state restructuring, and ethnic, linguistic, and cultural identities.
Sharma also proposed developing policy plans and leadership for municipalities won by the party, aiming to turn them into models of production, employment, poverty reduction, educational reform, social justice, service delivery, and good governance based on local characteristics.
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