Kathmandu:
A high-level Chinese delegation, which held separate talks with top leaders of the warring factions of the Nepal Communist Party in its desperate attempt to avert a vertical split in the ruling party, has suggested two possible solutions to resolve the current political crisis in the Himalayan nation, a senior Nepalese leader said on Tuesday. Nepal plunged into a political crisis after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, known for his pro-Beijing leanings, in a surprise move, recommended dissolving the 275-member House on December 20, amidst a tussle for power with former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
Acting on Oli’s recommendation, President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House the same day and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10, sparking protests from a large section of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) led by Prachanda, also a co-chair of the ruling party. A wary China rushed the four-member delegation led by Vice Minister of the International Department of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Guo Yezhou, who personally knows all senior NCP leaders, to Kathmandu to patch up differences between Nepal’s feuding leaders after its high-profile Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi failed to sort out differences between them.
Guo, who arrived here on Sunday on a four-day visit, kept himself busy in hectic consultations with the top NCP leaders, aimed at assessing the latest political situation in Nepal and making efforts for reunification between the two warring factions of the ruling party. The Chinese delegation held talks with President Bhandari, Prime Minister Oli, NCP chairs ‘Prachanda’ and Madhav Nepal, former prime minister Jhana Nath Khanal and leader of the Janata Samajbadi Party Baburam Bhattarai.
China is mainly concerned for the weaker communist influence in South Asia with the vertical split in the NCP into two factions – one led by Oli and other by Prachanda, pointed out political observers here. During his meetings with Oli and Prachanda, the Chinese leader is learnt to have told them to make efforts for reunification as the split in the largest communist party of Nepal will weaken communist movement in South Asia, according to a senior leader of Prachanda-led faction of the NCP. The Chinese leader has suggested two possible solutions to resolve the current political crisis in Nepal, he pointed out.
Under ‘Plan A’, the dissolved House could be reinstated through the Supreme Court verdict followed by re-unification of the two factions, he said on condition of anonymity. The Chinese leader has advised the senior NCP leaders to give alternative to Prime Minister Oli if the Parliament gets reinstated. If the first option is not workable then the ‘Plan B’ would be to contest the mid-term election through electoral alliance among all the communist forces of Nepal, he added.
The Leftists marching through the streets of Kathmandu against the Leftist government is what is most worrying for China, he added. ”The Chinese leadership is not happy with Oli’s move,” he said. ”Oli’s move to dissolve the Parliament leading to split in the largest party might served the interest of the southern neighbour, hinted the Chinese leader during his high level meetings,” he added. The Chinese delegation also discussed with the Nepalese leadership the possible impact of the House dissolution on Nepal’s political and economic spectrum. It also discussed with the Nepalese leaders whether this would affect stability and development of Nepal and cautioned about the possible negative impact on China funded projects and Chinese investments in Nepal, said sources close to the NCP.
The Chinese team also met main opposition Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba and discussed the latest political developments in the country. Guo conveyed an invitation to Deuba from President Xi Jinping to visit China on the 100th anniversary of the CPC next year.
The invitation is being regarded here as meaningful with political observers speculating that the Nepali Congress may emerge as the strong force in the next Parliamentary election taking the benefit of the divided left. Earlier, Gou travelled to Kathmandu in February 2018 when Oli-led CPN-UML and Prachanda-led NCP (Maoist Centre) – were all set to merge and form a unified communist party following victory of their alliance in the 2017 general elections. Later in May, 2018, the two communist parties merged and formed a new party named NCP.
This is not the first time that China has intervened in Nepal’s internal affairs. In May and July, Chinese Ambassador Hou held separate meetings with the president, the prime minister and other senior NCP leaders, including Prachanda, when Oli was facing mounting pressure to step down.
A number of political party leaders had termed the Chinese envoy’s series of meetings with the ruling party leaders as interference in Nepal’s internal political affairs. China’s political profile in Nepal has been on the rise in recent years with billions of dollars of investments under its multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, including the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network.
The CPC and NCP were regularly engaged in training programmes. In September last year, the NCP had even organised a symposium, inviting some CPC leaders to Kathmandu to impart training to Nepali leaders on the Xi Jinping Thought ahead of the visit of the Chinese president, his first to Nepal, according to reports..
