Saturday, June 20, 2009

What Next For The Madhesi Movement?

What Is Gachhedar Thinking?
The Implications Of A Split In The MJF
The MJF Must Stay Intact

andolan3Image by paramendra via Flickr

Analysis

Due to the high level of political consciousness achieved by the Madhesi population due to two Madhesi revolutions and one Tharu revolution, the political future of the Madhesi population is no longer tied to any particular political party. No party, be it the Madhesi parties, or the Maoists, UML, NC, can do business in the Terai without being respectful of the aspirations of the Madhesi people. Due to the Madhesi revolutions, the Madhesis already have almost proportionate representation in the parliament, although that proportionate representation has not yet extended to the other state organs more permanent in nature. Federalism has not been achieved yet, but it is on schedule. The Madhesi MPs are becoming ministers.

The vertical split in the MJF is a blow to the Madhesi movement, sure, but it is only a momentary blow. It does not undo the political consciousness achieved through the

andolan1Image by paramendra via Flickr

Madhesi revolutions.

You could argue the MJF unity became victim to the left, non-left polarization in the country, but then it is hard to argue the UML is a non-left party.

The Madhesi political leaders have failed to deliver whereas the Madhesi population has delivered time and again over the years. It is not always easy to see if it is Madhesi disunity in play, or the regular parliamentary, democratic arithmetic in motion.

The Glass Is Half Empty

The MJF split is a near fatal blow to the Madhesi movement. The idea of Nepal having a directly elected Madhesi prime minister or president has been pushed away at least a few election cycles. The disunity and discord will only continue. Both MJF factions will see major defeat during the election next year, and neither the TMLP nor the Sadbhavana will see growth. The three Pahadi led parties will come in to fill the vacuum. The ruling coalition after the election next year will exclude all the Madhesi parties because they will all be too small to matter. The Madhesi political leaders will be out of power for about four years after next year.

The idea of a party led by a Madhesi also growing in the Pahad that the MJF had made possible to an extent is temporarily out the door.

andolan2Image by paramendra via Flickr


The Glass Is Half Full

A split in the MJF means now the two MJF factions are about the same size as the TMLP, and the Sadbhavana is almost half as big as the TMLP. Now it is not at all obvious that if all the Madhesi parties were to unite and become one party then the leader of that party will be Upendra Yadav. In this scenario it has become more not less possible to push the idea of one unified Madhesi party. A party convention would decide on the leader. Let the democratic process decide.

Disarray

The reality might not be as neat as either. Not only the Madhesi parties but Nepal as a country is headed for a decade or so of political fragmentation and political paralysis. There is a lot of side drama in the political sphere, but there is no decisive positive surge for the country as a whole.

The Maoists And Multi-Party Democracy

Many factors come into play. But there is one thing more than any other that turns the tables on political progress. The Maoists must work extra hard to convince all powers foreign and domestic that they are for multi-party democracy for the long haul. They have to do that

andolan5Image by paramendra via Flickr

if they want to see progress on security sector reform, federalism and land reform.

Another Maoist, MJF Wave?

Maybe the Gachhedar faction has no mass base. It is possible that the Yadav faction will see a surge next year. One scenario is that the Maoists and the Yadav MJF see a surge during the election next year and form a ruling coalition of the two parties to last a four year term.

A Directly Elected President

We are not about to become a two party state. No one party is about to gain a majority on its own. In that scenario having a directly elected president is extra important to achi

andolan4Image by paramendra via Flickr

eve political stability.

An All Party Government In Six Months?

If this government were to collapse and make room for an all party government under Prachanda's leadership, would the two MJF factions unite or still stay separate? That is an intriguing question.

But for that all-party government to be possible, Prachanda might first have to clean house. How about expelling some hardliners from the party?

In The News

Madhesi parties to send names by today Kantipur Online While Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) and Sadbhavana Party-Anandidevi (SP-A) narrowed down differences after hours of negotiations, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) appeared to be in complete disarray. ....... For Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, who leads a splinter group of MJF, selecting his ministerial candidates appears to be a tough job for the simple reason: Most of his supporters are still volatile. ......... “There are chances that Gachhadar may lose his lawmakers if he fails to take a consensus decision and appease all aspirants” .......... In a meeting with his lawmakers, Gachhadar received more rebuff than support for his proposed list of ministers: Mrigendra Singh Yadav (Agriculture and Cooperatives), Sawai Dev Ojha (Women, Children and Social Welfare), Sarat Singh Bhandari (Tourism and Civil Aviation). Jitendra Dev, Asha Chaturvedi and Karima Begam were also figured in his list. ....... Gachhadar is likely to offer one post to “newcomer” R.C. Yadav, who defected from Upendra Yadav's faction. ......... TMLP has three ministerial portfolios -- Education, Industry and Youth and Sports -- and two state mi-nisterial positions. ....... Rajendra Mahato will join the Cabinet as Minister for Supplies while Laxman Lal Karna will accompany him as state minister.
Prachanda's dilemma Telegraphnepal.com Prachanda’s days in his own party remain numbered as he neither is in government nor the party’s structure remains in his grip. ..... Prachanda knows well that if his party were to survive then he must invent some schemes that unendingly weakened the current shaky coalition led by shaky Prime Minister Mr. defeated Nepal. ..... Mr. defeated Nepal’s government will not last longer. The government may collapse of its own weight and the needed extra weight will be put on place by the Maoists. ..... “I will be back in Singh Durbar after the end of the Nepali festivals”. ..... Nepalese festivals begin October and end around November. ..... Khanal is on record to have recently said that “We need a national government which must see the participation of the Maoists”. ..... both Prachanda and Khanal favor the formation of a broader Communist Front and rule the nation for all time to come. ..... Sujata only the other day advocated in favor of the Maoists and said that “without the Maoists in government, the new constitution can’t be drafted”. ..... The pretty humiliated Upendra Yadav, the erstwhile founder president of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, by default, has freshly associated himself with the Maoists. ..... Upendra Yadav is basically a MJF leader with Maoist soul. ..... Hard liners in his party, like Mohan Vaidya Kiran and Netra Bikram Chand, have been encouraging him to capture the state through the use of the streets and violence. ...... Prachanda though wants to bounce back to power through democratic means, however, his colleagues, for example, Dr. Bhattarai, Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal, Lila Mani Pokhrel, and Giriraj Mani Pokhrel have been encouraging Prachanda to go in for a fierce movement and turn the movement into a revolt and later capture the State once and for all. ..... Some even claim that the hardliners want to depose Prachanda in the process. ..... Those who want the people’s Revolution to commence at the earliest are in the majority in the party. ..... Thus Prachanda has his enemies’ right inside his own party.
Poor Nepal Kantipur Online
Politics of inclusion Republica
Poudel crushes Deuba Republica Deuba was not to be seen at the election venue when the election results were out. ....... Koirala cannot contest the post of party president at the next general convention and there is no credible candidate from the Koirala family to step into his shoes. ..... While the Deuba faction had pressed to hold the election Sunday, the Poudel faction insisted that it should be held the same evening.
Baidya slams Dahal over national unity govt "To float the concept of a national unity government again is to form another puppet government; it is nothing short of a surrender to regressive forces" ...... In his political document, Dahal opined that it would be in the best interests of the party to continue with protests in the streets and in parliament and push for a national unity government in two or three months´ time. ........ After Dahal presented his paper on Tuesday, the hardliners had met at Thapagaun in Kathmandu to chalk out their strategy, party sources said. They have argued that the ground is now ready for the Maoist party to capture state power through a "people´s revolt".
UDMF meeting put off for Sunday
Maoists for indirect election of executive prez
Waiting on Mr. Nepal After nine months of poor statecraft, coarse language, absence of accountability, unwillingness to push the constitution-writing, and willingness to maintain their private combatant force intact, it was the attempt to break the chain of command in the national army that unravelled the government. That attempt brought the entire political firmanent together to petition President Ram Baran Yadav, who decided to annul the unilateral decision by the Maoists in cabinet to sack COAS Rookmangud Katawal. ...... winning elections by breaking limbs, diverting state funds to buy arms, ideologically infiltrating the military, and misrepresenting matters to claim nearly 20,000 combatants in place of 7-8000. ..... a mix of money, state power and threat of violence. ........ The Nepal Army did conduct a dirty war during the conflict period, and accountability and justice must be sought for excesses committed. That is a separate campaign, not to be confused with the Maoist attempts to shake the military´s foundations as a way of achieving ´state capture´. ....... As for the President´s action, the fact that the matter is before the Supreme Court is irrevelant for a party used to having its way with the fist. ......... Jhala Nath Khanal has proved a reluctant supporter of his own party in government leadership. ....... the third leg of the Maoist strategy in opposition is to adopt the ultra-nationalist, anti-India stance ...... Nepal has become a trouble spot where Indian bureaucrats and politicians wade in to ‘set things right’ ........ Far from being a responsible opposition, the Maoist party today acts like a wounded carnivore, one that has been deprived of its all-consuming need for state power. ........ an all-party national unity government led by the Maoists as the largest party in the Constitutent Assembly is the only alternative if the UML-Congress-Madhesi coalition fails to stick. ........ Mr. Nepal, Mr. Koirala and Mr. Bijay Kumar Gachhedhar .......... If the three fail, we will have to turn to an all-party national unity government in the hope that the Maoists who will lead it are more restrained.
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Saturday, June 13, 2009

What Is Gachhedar Thinking?


The guy managed to engineer a vertical split in the MJF flouting all norms of parliamentary democracy. Madhav Nepal could not even have appointed people from his own party into the government before his party decided, but he went ahead and appointed Gachhedar against Gachhedar's party's official stand which at that point was to take part in the government in a way that both Yadav and Gachhedar get powerful ministries.

At best he now has about 25 MPs. And he is asking for five ministries including Home. A

andolan2Image by paramendra via Flickr

unified MJF could have got five ministries, Home included. But by now Gachhedar has become a joke. Girija Koirala and Madhav Nepal used him and discarded him.

The party is still not officially split. There still is time. He and Upendra Yadav should meet in person and sort out their differences. But since all the plum portfolios have already been taken by the NC and the UML, the MJF has only one option left: stay outside the government, support it from the outside. Gachhedar now gets to resign because he can't be the only MJF person in the government.

Now is an opportunity to engage in party building activities. If the UML-NC government does not deliver, in a few months it might be time for a Maoist-MJF government with support from many small parties. At that point the MJF can get DPM and Foreign Affairs for Yadav and Home for Gachhedar. Right now is not a good time for the MJF to get into government.

andolan1Image by paramendra via Flickr



This is what is going to happen. The NC and the UML are going to drag their feet on two mega issues:
  • Security Sector Reform.
  • Federalism.
Then the Maoists and the MJF are not going to have any option left except pull them out of power. A Maoist-MJF-TMDP-SP government is going to become possible.
  • Maoists 229
  • MJF 54
  • TMDP 21
  • SP 9
  • Total 313
Gachhedar overplayed his hand. Now he needs to wake up to the reality and start making sense.

Perhaps the TMDP and the SP should also support this government from the outside. It is only a matter of a few short months. They have not been consulted on portfolio division either.

Bhai Phoote Ganwar Loote.
Upendra Yadav's Leadership Style: Much Is Lacking

Upendra Yadav must work on his leadership style. He does not consult enough. He should, as the leader of the party, be constantly consulting with all of his MPs and all members of his central committee on all issues big and small. That is on top of holding regular meetings of the parliamentary party and the central committee, and their various committees. And he should stay in daily touch with the top five or 10 leaders in the party. When in person is not possible, he should do it by phone. If he cultivates this style, it will be rare when the party president's viewpoint is different from majority opinion inside the party. He should also consult with the district leaders of his party on a monthly basis. He should invite them over to Kathmandu regularly. He should go visit them in their district offices.

In The News

UML, NC finally settle row over portfolios NepalNews agreement was reached during a meeting between Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and NC president Girija Prasad Koirala Saturday afternoon. ....... UML will get finance, home, defence and communication portfolios while Nepali Congress will hold foreign affairs, water resources, labour, health, law and local development ministries. ...... the two parties are yet to convince other allies on the portfolio distribution.
Gachchhadar predicts trouble for govt Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, has hinted that his party might walk out of the government if it does not get the Home Ministry. ....... "If UML and Nepali Congress want us to continue in the cabinet they must be ready to give us respectable position," Gachchhadar said ....... Gachchhadar took UML and NC to task for not consulting with his party on portfolio division ....... "We will have to think whether to stay in the government if UML and NC want the Madhesi parties to settle for the ministries left by them," he said. ...... We will help the government even if we have to stay outside ....... Gachhadar also insisted that the action taken against him and other central leaders by the MJF establishment was not a legitimate one. He said MJF's

andolan4Image by paramendra via Flickr

Parliamentary Party rebelled against chairman Upendra Yadav's autocratic style of running the party.
US sets 'conditions' for removing Maoists from terror watch list if they renounce violence, stop the violent activities of its sister organisation, the Young Communist League (YCL) and actively participate and work together with other parties to support the peace process.
Oli confers with Koirala, RJP chairman before heading off to India Oli, who is one of the main architects of the new coalition, is known to have stressed that army chief Rookmangud Katawal should be allowed to serve full term.
Khanal hopes for a compete cabinet by Sunday the current coalition government will get final shape within the next two days. ..... the party has already forwarded na

Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, NepalImage via Wikipedia

mes from UML to be inducted as ministers in the new cabinet. ..... agreed on sharing six ministries each. ..... Khanal reiterated his party’s claim for Defense, Finance, Home and Information Ministries. ...... he asked members of the Youth Force to retaliate attacks of Young Communist League (YCL)
Gachchhadar demands Home ministry Republica
NC, UML Reach Accord On Portfolio Sharing
UML to keep finance, defense, home, communications: Khanal
Army chief will complete his term: Oli to Koirala
Give full shape to cabinet soon: MPRF to PM
At the Forum Prashant Jha, Nepali Times The Forum saga has all the elements of a Bollywood potboiler: betrayal, anger, violence, money and revenge. ....... For all his self-righteousness and sudden discovery that this is an "anti federalism" alliance, Upendra Yadav has shown remarkable inconsistency. ...... He first sat out the entire army chief controversy by junketing around the globe. Returning a day after Prachanda's resignation, he immediately started aiming to become PM with Maoist support. When the numbers did not add up, he shifted allegiance to the UML-led coalition and signed the common minimum program. And though his heart was not in the arrangement, he wanted to lead the MJF in this set-up. When that did not happen, Yadav sacked Bijay Gachhedar & Co. ........ Gachhedar's aim throughout seemed to be to divide and weaken the party. He unilaterally decided to back the UML-NC combine and bargained a plum portfolio for himself. ....... He threw money around to get MPs on his side. And then using old friends like Khum Bahadur, Gachhedar got the NC patriarch to put pressure on the PM to swear him in without an official party decision. ......... The Forum was never a proper party. Just look at Bijay's far right antecedents and desire to turn the clock back to the 1990s, Upendra's radical left background and commitment to federalism and the inscrutable JP Gupta's shift from social democracy to ethnic separatism inspired by a jail stint and study of Sri Lankan Tamils. On the ground, activists who build the organisation for the Madhesi movement had to co-exist with late entrants who had opposed Madhesi issues through this period. ......... The party had its use when a broader Madhesi identity was sharpest before elections and Yadavs, Tharus and Muslims needed each other. ......... In the last year after his electoral success, Yadav had become intolerably arrogant and felt invincible. He had little time for his MPs and rarely visited the Madhes. Gachhedar, on the other hand, closely wooed parliamentary party members. ......... The NC wants to weaken the Madhesi groups to recover its Tarai base. ....... GPK's personal grudge against Upendra for defeating his daughter in Sunsari and opposing his dream of presidency last year. India was also irritated with Yadav for his intransigence on multiple issues and felt that he needed a lesson. ......... With Gachhedar, NC, UML, India and the army ganged up against him ........ There are now three key actors (Prachanda, Jhalanath Khanal, and Upendra Yadav) who want to see an end to this government. .......... In case a political vacuum does develop, the Maoists or a new force is more likely to benefit from it than traditional parties. ...... When Upendra Yadav was asked last year why he was getting people like Bijay Gachhedar into the MJF even though they had no commitment to Madhes, he replied, " "I need their experience of power politics." Looks like the experience has boomeranged.

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