Stop the charade

If left forces still cannot catch the public sentiment, they will sink along with their ageing leaders.

It’s a meaningless exercise. Communist parties in Nepal have a history of abrupt mergers and splits. Some of the earlier ones revolved around ideology, with those sharing common views coming together under the same roof. On the other hand, those in a party who believed there was ‘deviation’ from the core ideology broke away to establish rival parties. Yet if we look at the post-1990 history of Nepali communist parties, such mergers and splits have little or nothing to do with competing ideologies. They are rather the product of a handful of top leaders trying to establish their relevance in national politics through deft manoeuvring. Following the Gen Z protests in early September, Nepali communist parties are consolidating again. The CPN (Maoist Centre), the third largest force in the just-dissolved parliament, and the CPN (Unified Socialist), the sixth largest, have just announced a merger—along with a host of other fringe communist outfits. In the normal course of events, the consolidation of parties of similar persuasions is a sign of a vibrant democracy. Yet there is nothing to be excited about the proposed merger for Nepalis, even those of the leftist bent.