Former Vice President Pun returns to active politics as Maoist vice-chair

KATHMANDU: Former Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun has formally re-entered active politics, assuming the post of vice-chair of the Maoist Center, the main opposition party led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The party’s office bearers’ meeting held at Khumaltar on April 1 endorsed Pun’s nomination as central member, standing committee member, and vice-chairman. Although the decision to bring Pun back into politics had been made earlier, it was only recently formalized.

According to Maoist General Secretary Dev Gurung, the central committee had earlier discussed the proposal during its meeting in early Chait and sent a formal recommendation to the party office. “The central office has now implemented that decision,” he told Khabarhub.

Pun, a former commander of the Maoist People’s Liberation Army, had remained politically low-profile following his term as Vice President of Nepal. However, party leaders had long discussed assigning him a significant organizational role. He had even participated as an invited member in recent central meetings.

At the central committee meeting held from January 5 to 7 in Kathmandu, Pun was symbolically placed at the forefront of the stage, signaling his return to frontline politics.

Currently, Narayan Kaji Shrestha holds the position of senior vice-chairman in the Maoist Center. Other vice-chairmen include Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Agni Prasad Sapkota, and Pampha Bhusal. Pun ranks directly behind Shrestha in the party’s vice-chairmanship hierarchy.

Party insiders say initial discussions on creating a “production department” for Pun were held during the general convention.

As the former commander of the People’s Army, Pun has now been given leadership of the party’s newly envisioned production department, one of 35 departments being structured under the Maoist Center.

Sources confirm that Chair Dahal had to mediate internal disagreements to secure consensus for Pun’s appointment. Eventually, other vice-chairmen, including Mahara, agreed to place Pun directly after Shrestha in the order of seniority.