ROSA LUXEMBURG STIFTUNG LEFTIZING LEFTIZING THE LEFT POLICY PAPER THE CHALLENGE OF UNIF YING T WO COMMUNIST PARTIES IN NEPAL IN PARTIES COMMUNIST WO T YING UNIF OF CHALLENGE THE KHAGENDRA PRASAI munist Party (NCP). declared their unification into a new party: the Nepal Com- After this success, on May 17, 2018, the two parties formally won a landslide victory in both federal and state elections. and the Maoists decided to continue to work together and NayaShakti announcement, the after weeks However,two than less plan of intent and unification was conceived and circulated. Federal House of Representatives and the State Assembly. an electoral alliance for the then upcoming election for the unconditionally committed to the peaceful transformation their important theoretical standpoints. The CPN (UML) was see that they were separated by a large divide in some of seemed anything but possible. parties two the of unification the facts, these of view In were avowedly opposed to bringing the two parties together. party,each from leaders alliance,the “championed” who they deemed it useful or in their interest. Thirdly, influential political parties and candidates against each other whenever ship of those parties) had forged alliances with right-wing tions, each of the two parties (more accurately, the leader for a long time. Secondly, immediately after the local elec- engaged in personal, political and ideological belligerence been had parties two Firstly,the threefold. are reasons Thevoters. and members leaders, parties’ both foreven electoral alliance was in itself a surprise for the nation and The coming together of the two communist parties for an THE UNFOLDING OF UNIFICATION Nepal (Maoist Centre) and the of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), the Communist Party of history, three political parties, namely the Communist Party communist movement: For the first time in Nepal’s political October 3, 2017 has become a historic day in the Nepalese cadres. however, complain that the unification process was badly prepared and happened without involving supporters competitors and – party the Marxist-Leninists and Maoists – have overcome their differences and united into a single party.left Critics, majority. But the parties have often been bitter politic adversaries and in conflict with For each more than other. a Nowdecade, left the parties two in biggest Nepal have played an important role in politics. Moreover, there has always been a In the two parties’ official documents, it was not hard to withdrew.LeninistsMarxist the this, Despite Naya Shakti Party 1 announced 2 A - 1 Congress. come about as a result of its potential alliance with the Nepali wanted to rescue itself from the electoral result that might provincial elections. Likewise, the CPN (Maoist Centre) also from a potential bad showing in the upcoming federal and in the immediate past local elections, wanted to save itself to the current need felt by both of the parties. (UML) Ghanashyam Bhusal attributes the electoral alliance made by several Marxist scholars. nished by reading through the observations and analyses How and why? An understanding of this can be better fur be forthcoming. als, the coming together of the two parties did not appear to socialist revolution. jolt” (or revolt) as a prerequisite for the decisive victory of the theory and, accordingly, emphasized the “people’s rebellion conviction that Marxism-Leninism-Maoism was a sovereign The CPN (Maoist Centre), on the other hand, reiterated its Marxism, Leninism and a people’s multi-party democracy. and a multi-party democracy. Its official ideology consists of of Nepali society under the framework of constitutionalism did not work in favor of the people. cation. On the contrary, it was status quoist, inactionist and tion, the CPN (UML) was in no way a party qualified for unifi - as commitment to Maoism was a pre-condition to unifica- with the CPN (Maoist Centre). For the CPN (Maoist Centre), struggle and transformation” as the best strategy to engage the transformation was incomplete. It named “cooperation, (Maoist Centre) was freeing itself from ultra-leftism but that tion. In line with its position, the CPN (UML) felt that the CPN parties’ official positions on the eligibility criteria for unifica- The CPN(UML),scaredbythegrandanti-UML alliance CPNthen the of leader and scholar Marxist Renowned But, to people’s surprise, the “inconceivable” transpired. Naturally, these theoretical standpoints had informed the / 2018 5

3 4 In view of these apprais - -

Bhusal feels that the two parties were “forced” to come political power and responsibilities. These, inter alia, include together. This was a negative force at work. preparing agendas to be tabled in the meetings of the polit- Bhusal, however, also speaks of a positive force that was buro, and standing and central committees; preparing pro- gaining ground: The two parties had begun to come closer posals for central plans and programs; and making deci- theoretically. In their last national conventions, both con - sions on political and organizational issues in the interstice cluded that Nepali society was no longer feudal and was between meetings of the politburo, the standing committee predominantly capitalist. In view of this conclusion, the chief and the central committee. revolutionary task for both, despite the different nomencla- Similarly, the Rule Book has also given the Central Com- tures of their theories, consists of developing the economy mittee the authority to appoint office bearers of provincial, based on national capital and preparing the ground for social- district, special district and coordination committees, and ist transformation. Bhusal concludes that theoretically and of other lower committees, class and professional organi- practically, similar conclusions and corresponding tasks had zations as it deems necessary. Moreover, the Central Com- prepared the groundwork for unification.6 It cannot be denied mittee is too big to have meaningful discussions and is not that theoretical convergence can more naturally facilitate and constitutionally required to meet frequently. Even worse, lead to the unification of parties, but its role can be contested. the current central organs including the Central Committee and the Central Secretariat are heavily lopsided in favor of CONSOLIDATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT’S the establishment. These factors, combined with the already POWER undermined tradition of inner-party democracy, consoli- Marxist scholar and activist Shyam Shrestha claims that the dated the establishment’s power in the party in an illegiti- basis for the unity is rooted in the fact that both parties had mate authoritarian way. completely transformed into reformist and “pragmatist” par- liamentarian parties. According to Shrestha, both parties, THEORY BUILDING SYSTEMATICALLY ideologically and culturally, had degenerated into a capital- SIDELINED ist parliamentary party long before, though they continued to Theoretical discussion, as we know, is the lifeblood of a use “socialism” as an important part of their sloganeering for democratic or a left party. Sadly, the unification process the consumption of their cadres and the public. The cultural, was not initiated and forwarded by a systematic attempt ideological and ethical similarities are what brought them to build a rational agreement on important theoretical and together. He further claims that if either of the two parties had organizational questions. It was motivated exclusively by remained truly left, the unity would not have been possible.7 the establishments’ intention to consolidate their positions. These observations, though plausible, are not exhaustive. Consequently, the establishments on both sides showed no It should also be emphasized that the intention and ambi - concern for theory; they were, rather, intensely averse to it. tion of both parties’ establishment leaders to improve and Theory building was systematically sidelined or diffused. consolidate their political position internally (within the The Joint Declaration of Party Unity and subsequent docu- party) and nationally in that context was pivotal. They had ments clearly shows that no substantive work was done made their calculations and come to the realization that to develop clarity on the theoretical basis of the new party. without forging alliances or working together in some form, The Declaration states: “The theoretical and political princi- they would be at the losing end of the electoral game. They ples of the People’s Multi-Party Democracy adopted by the readied themselves, willingly or unwillingly, to bury their CPN (UML) and the Democracy of the Twenty-First Century personal and political hatchets for relatively better gains and adopted by the CPN (Maoist Centre) will be developed into to enter a “fruitful” agreement, one already made easier by a Socialism-Oriented People’s Democracy by transforming their similarities in their political conduct, behavior and prac- and amending them in the changed context.”8 The People’s tice, namely, by their rapidly progressing disengagement Democracy is vacuous or at least yet to be developed. Simi- from leftism and the accompanying adoption of a bourgeois larly, the Interim Constitution proposes that questions con- lifestyle backed by illegal earnings as well as capitalist poli- cerning the People’s Multi-Party Democracy, Democracy of cies and programs. the Twenty-First Century and Maoism be settled in the forth- This is neither pessimistic nor a baseless or prejudiced coming General Convention.9 These documents attest to the allegation. The whole process of unification, from beginning fact that unity was accomplished without theoretical prepa- to end, was elitist. Only a small clique of party leaders, who ration, which has been left for future unity conventions. were most trusted by and faithful to the establishments of There are also seemingly serious inconsistencies and con- both sides, were involved. Everything revolved around the fusions in what the Party claims to be its worked-out theory. consolidation and assurance of the position of the establish- The party endorses Marxism-Leninism as its guiding prin- ments on both sides. Inner-party democracy was sidelined. ciple, while expressing its commitment, among others, to The process picked up momentum only when the consolida- peaceful competition, constitutional supremacy, a pluralist tion of positions for leaders on both sides was assured. That open society, government by elected representatives and the is precisely why the unification ended up with two co-chairs. constitutional provision of opposition.10 How can Leninism – Moreover, after unification, the establishment consoli- the theory of violent revolution and the dictatorship of prole- dated their positions by nominating their favorites to the tariat as the sovereign truth of socialist revolution – be recon- powerful committee acting in the capacity of the Executive ciled with the universal principles of modern democra­cy to Committee. The establishments’ intention of consolidat- which the new party is expressly committed? ing their positions is also evident in provisions in the party’s Inconsistency is also evident in the party’s claim of its class Interim 2018 Constitution and the 2018 Rule Book. In the base and representation. The party claims to be “the insti- Interim Constitution, the Central Secretariat, customarily tution of political representative of the people of the Nepa- considered a managerial body, was vested with enormous lese proletariat class.” It also claims that “it represents the 2 interest of workers, peasants, the petty-bourgeoisie [and] in Nepal to flow out of the country). Almost all leaders are the national bourgeoisie.”11 How can the representative of similar in terms of their economic status, ideology, conduct the proletariat be the representative of the bourgeoisie at and lifestyle.”17 the same time? The formulation is empty and meaninglessly Bhusal further says that each party has factions and sub- populist. This is a serious theoretical problem for a commu- factions which have very weak ideological and political nist party. This leads us to a much bigger underlying problem agendas and are turned into the management committees of we should not shy away from asking: Is the united party a private interests. Judging by the changed economic status genuine communist party? of our leaders, the grip of comprador capital in our politics is The independent left author and activist Rajendra Maha- evident.18 He draws an unpalatable conclusion about where rjan contended that the two parties that united to form a the two communist parties stand in the current class strug- single party were phony communists. 12 He argued that a gle: Assuming that class does determine social outlook, in party cannot be held to be left merely on the basis of its name, the past we belonged to the lower class and, therefore, had election manifesto or what is presented in public speeches; it contradictions with the upper class; now, we have trans- should be judged on the basis of its actual ideology, policies, formed into upper class, and therefore, have contradictions programs, intention, conduct and culture. Unfortunately, with the lower class.19 If Oli and Bhusal are correct, is the both parties, according to Maharjan, badly fail this test. The united party a communist party? Sadly, the truth of these reason they still carry the signboard of “communist party” is observations cannot be denied empirically. that socialism, leftism and communism still commands pop- The unification can and must also be examined from the ularity in Nepal.13 If the two parties were phony communists, standpoint of Marxist social ontology. According to this as Maharjan contends, the united party’s genuineness is also ontology, a communist party is an association of a class or questionable. classes with similar interests or positions, and accordingly, Mohan Bikram Singh, the supreme leader of the fringe the unification of communist parties is the unification of a Communist Party of Nepal (Masal), a noted Marxist and class or classes. This can be done only when interests of a the mentor of many communist leaders including those of class or classes can be materially identified and explained. CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre), argues that from the If the unity of the oppressed classes is not predicated on the perspective of communist unity, the unification of the two potentially or objectively existing interests, the attempt to parties does not count as the formation of a united com- secure unity ends up being utopian and idealist and is bound munist party because this is the coming together of parties to fail. But, as is well known, no theoretical attempt was which have deviated from the fundamental principles of made in this direction. To put it another way, no attempt was Marxism and Leninism.14 made to analyze how different oppressed classes and their interests can converge into a collective class will. Arguably, COMMUNISM WITHOUT SUBSTANTIVE for this reason, the workers and laborers did not see the unifi- MEANING cation as the unification of their interests. The criticism that the united party is not a genuine commu- As mentioned above, the united party has a confused nist party is easily dismissed by its supporters, particularly understanding of class base and representation. Looked at when it comes from outside the party. They, however, remain from a theoretical and practical viewpoint, the confusion in surprisingly silent on a similar observation by Khadga Prasad the present context implies disassociation from the class or Oli, the then chairperson of the CPN (UML) and now co- classes it is historically supposed to organize and represent. chair of Nepal Communist Party and Prime Minister of the In addition, the muddle is nothing but the expression of theo- country. In an interview before the unification with journal- rylessness; such a chaotic position ceases to represent and ist Vijaya Kumar, Oli was asked: “Is this a left alliance or a guide the specific class or classes, and consequently, ceases communist alliance?” and Oli categorically answered, “As a to be their theory. Jumbled theory, however, can be useful for matter of fact, it is neither a left alliance nor a communist alli- opportunism and status quoism. ance.” Oli rhetorically asked the journalist: “Does your name Apart from these abstract and theoretical examinations, Vijaya [whose literal meaning is victorious] mean that you are the class-sidedness of the united party can also be empiri- always victorious?”15 The implication was clear – though the cally assessed by looking into the performance of the gov- party’s name is communist, the term “communist” does not ernment which is running parliament with a two-thirds have any meaning. majority. So far, the government has not legislated or imple- Oli attempted to further clarify by categorizing the commu- mented new policies and programs which are characteristi- nists into three types: philosophical, ideological and political. cally left nor has it enforced already existing laws to bring He claimed that most of the communists today in Nepal and about desired reforms and changes that were promised in the world are political, i.e. those who have become com- during the elections. Moreover, policies and programs that munist out of necessity and for personal benefit and aggran- traditionally represent the interests of the working popula- dizement.16 tion and qualify as left do not seem to be coming in the near Ghanashyam Bhusal, the then Deputy Secretary General future. On the contrary, in most cases, it has continued the of the CPN (UML), makes it even clearer by making a self- neo-liberal policies that have been imposed on Nepal since critical and bold assessment: “Based on the class status of 1990. Consequently, it failed to enliven the optimism and its members, parties can be distinguished as characteristi- enthusiasm of the public, left-voters and the cadres. cally representing workers or capitalists or the middle class. At present, there is no difference in the class status between THE NEED FOR INNER-PARTY DEMOCRACY the members of the communist parties and of the Nepali If the test of truth is practice, the united party’s leftness is not Congress which was described as the party of bureaucratic proving itself. Can we then pessimistically conclude that the 2 3 and comprador capitalists (that support profits being made future of left party and politics in Nepal is in many ways hope- less and bleak? The answer is a qualified “no.” Objectively, racy in the party and the movement to create a vibrant left there are existing conditions that call for and favor left politics party. in Nepal. First, the vast majority of the Nepalese public still The third task is seminally and perennially important as has faith in left ideology and politics and, therefore, is looking well as challenging. It is important because the left move- for a genuine left party to emerge. Secondly, the aspirations ment and left party without it lose their democratic character. of Nepalese people for a just, equitable and prosperous To be a genuine left party, it must be democratic. society, which is also enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal, The task is challenging because the meaningful practice of can be materialized only by implementing a left agenda inner-party democracy and undertaking serious theoretical not by adopting and effecting capitalism. Thirdly, though discussions has been systematically and effectively under- the united party has failed the test of its leftness on several mined in both communist parties establishments’ for quite important occasions, it has brought a huge number of hith- a long time. This is so obvious that it has even been admit- erto isolated and unfriendly left cadres and intellectuals to a ted in the official documents of both parties. It seems that common platform and has provided them with opportunities in the new party too, this trend will continue: The party’s for interaction and discourse from which a genuine left force Interim Constitution and the Rule Book, which were briefly can emerge and develop. But the emergence of that force discussed above, are designed to concentrate power in a will not happen by itself. few hands. One can already see that in the current power As a potential progressive and revolutionary force, the game members of the new party are interested exclusively Nepalese left has two tasks: (i) to develop forces of produc- in consolidating their positions and therefore undermining tion in agriculture, industry, tourism etc.; and (ii) to ensure inner-party democracy. In this situation, inner-party democ- just and equitable distribution of resources, income and racy, if practiced at all, will be ritualistic at best. This is thus welfare provisions for its citizens. It is important to note that the most urgent and principal task – restoring and reclaiming these tasks must be carried out not in a sequential or chrono- the space of inner-party democracy is most pivotal in leftizing logical order but at the same time. The first task, owing to the new party. our dependent status in the global capitalist system, con- sists mainly of the rapid transformation of comprador capital Khagendra Prasai has a PhD in Philosophy from the State Univer - (unproductive and out-flowing) into productive and domesti- sity of New York, USA. He teaches political philosophy and other cally-accumulating capital. Only a successful journey on this courses at Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. Prasai is also direc- path can create jobs and wealth and will contribute to setting tor of the Centre for Nepal Studies, a think-tank that has for many up and sustaining welfare provisions and distributions. The years been a close partner of Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung in Nepal. second task is a characteristically socialist one which, in the main, consists of democratizing the production and the dis- 1 The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) abbreviated to CPN (UML) has been a parliamentary party since 1991. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) tribution of wealth; setting up public institutions to ensure abbreviated to CPN (MC) was the largest offshoot of the CPN (Maoist) which led armed more equitable distribution of basic provisions; and bring- insurrection from 1996 to 2006. It was formed in 2106 after the merging of multiple com- munist parties and is led by Puspa Kamal Dahal also known as Prachanda. The Naya Shakti ing capital under democratic control. The execution of these Party (literally the New Force Party) was founded in 2016 under the leadership of a former Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai. 2 The Constitution of Nepal 2072 has provisions for tasks is demanding and daunting as the left will necessarily three tiers of government: federal, state (provincial) and local. The legislature of the first two confront the power of local, national and global capital. are respectively called the House of Representatives and the State Assembly. 3 The Politi- cal Report passed by the Seventh National Unity Convention, February 2-6, 2013; 61 (trans- In terms of theory and practice, the immediate political lation by author). 4 The Political and Organization Proposal passed by First National Confer- tasks of the Nepalese left, therefore, includes: (i) developing ence, May 1-6, 2014; 9 (translation by author). 5 The Kantipur Dainik (Nepali); October 11, 2017 (translation by author). 6 Ibid. 7 The Kantipur Dainik, May 22, 2018 (translation by theoretical clarity as to the political and economic nature of author). 8 May 17, 2018 (translation by author). 9 July 20, 2018; 5 (translation by Nepalese society vis-à-vis global capitalism, and figuring out author). 10 The Joint Declaration of Party Unity, May 17, 2018 (translation by author). 11 The Interim Constitution; 1 (translation by author). 12 The Kantipur Dainik, what revolutionary tasks are feasible and desirable; (ii) clearly October 10, 2017 (translation by author). 13 Ibid. 14 Emisionkhabar.com, June 6, 2018 identifying a class or classes which it can potentially repre- (translation by author). 15 It was a TV interview and later came out in print in the Annapurna Post, December 1, 2017 (translation by author). 16 Ibid. 17 The Kantipur Dainik, October sent and organize; and (iii) establishing inner-party democ- 11, 2017 (translation by author). 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid.

IMPRINT POLICY PAPER 1/2018 is published online by the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Responsible: Henning Heine Franz-Mehring-Platz 1 · 10243 Berlin, Germany · www.rosalux.de ISSN 1867-3171 (Internet) Editorial deadline: October 2018 Editing/Proofreading: Ellison Moorehead for lingua•trans•fair Setting/Production: MediaService GmbH Druck und Kommunikation