Maoists Worried About How the Public Sees Them After Losing Power

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leader of the CPN (Maoist Centre), tends to reach out to the public when his party is not in power. Recently, Maoist leaders have been talking a lot about reconnecting with the people. Since losing power, the party is worried about how the public sees them. Having been in government for nine years until just a month ago, they now find themselves in the opposition and want to rebuild their party from the grassroots.

A meeting of Maoist leaders decided to start a revival campaign focused on rural areas. Agni Sapkota, Maoist Vice President and Spokesperson, said this campaign is a chance to rebuild the party’s organization and reconnect with the people after leaving government. To plan this properly, a party standing committee meeting is scheduled for August 5.

The Maoist government was toppled on July 2, after the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML agreed to share power on July 1.

A History of Power and Decline

KP Oli of the UML joined the Maoist government in 2015 after accepting Prachanda as Prime Minister. Except for a brief seven-month period when UML led, the Maoists were in government until recently. Prachanda served as Prime Minister twice. But over time, the party’s influence and voter support have been steadily shrinking.

Generally, leaders in power are expected to implement party policies and work for voters. But as the Maoists stayed in government longer, they seemed to drift away from the people. In the last two elections, the Maoists lost more votes than the other major parties.

While in power, the Maoist leadership had important responsibilities but failed to bring major improvements. They neglected the welfare of war veterans, families of missing members, and injured fighters. This caused disappointment among supporters and a loss of trust. Many leaders have prospered, but the general party members and affected families remain in difficult conditions.

Several prominent Maoist figures—including Mohan Vaidya, Netra Bikram Chand, CP Gajurel, and Baburam Bhattarai—have distanced themselves from the main party line.

Previous Efforts and Challenges

The Maoist Centre once launched a special three-month “transformation campaign” to reconnect with the people but extended it by one more month. During this time, Maoist commanders were posted in municipalities. However, this effort mostly benefited party members and failed to reach the wider public.

Because of this, the current “resurrection” campaign appears more like a routine exercise than a genuine revival.

How Maoists Have Used Their Time in Politics

The Maoists ended their armed revolt in 2005 and entered peace talks. In 2006, the monarchy was overthrown, and Nepal became a federal democratic republic.

Since then, Maoists have used their influence extensively. They led four of the 13 governments formed after the republic began and helped form ten others. They were in opposition only in three governments.

After winning the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, Maoists led the government with Prachanda as Prime Minister. Although Prachanda resigned after nine months, the Maoists remained influential. Baburam Bhattarai later became Prime Minister in 2011.

In 2015, after Nepal adopted a new constitution, UML’s KP Oli became Prime Minister with Maoist support. Prachanda became Prime Minister again in 2016 with Congress backing. Oli returned to power in 2018 with Maoist support. After Oli’s government fell in 40 months, Maoists joined Congress to form the government. In 2022 elections, Maoists allied with Congress but later left to form a government with UML.

Calls for Change Within the Party

Haribol Gajurel, Maoist Centre’s deputy general secretary, has asked to resign. In his resignation letter to Prachanda, he admitted responsibility for the party’s decline and apologized. He called on all leaders to resign to help unite the party and regain public trust.

Gajurel warned that without serious discussion and change, the party faces disaster. He said, “Bandages won’t fix this—surgery is needed.” He urged the party to take this opportunity seriously before it’s too late.

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