KATHMANDU: A high-level Chinese delegation, which held separate talks with the top leaders of the warring factions of the Nepal The Communist Party, in its desperate attempt to avoid 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 KP Sharma Oli, known for his pro-Beijing leanings, in a surprise move, recommended dissolving the 275-member House on December 20, amid a fight over the power with the former prime minister. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
Acting on Oli’s recommendation, President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House on the same day and announced new elections on April 30 and May 10, prompting protests from a large part of the Communist Party of Nepal (NCP) led by Prachanda, also co-chair of the ruling party.
A cautious China rushed to Kathmandu to travel to the four-member delegation led by the Vice Minister of the International Department of the ruling Communist Party of China (CCP), Guo Yezhou, who personally knows all the high-level leaders of the CPN, to arrange the differences between the conflict leaders of Nepal after High-profile ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, failed to resolve the differences between them.
Guo, who arrived here on Sunday on a four-day visit, kept busy in agitated consultations with top PNC leaders, aimed at assessing the latest political situation in Nepal and making efforts for reunification between the two warring factions of the party. ruler.
The Chinese delegation held talks with President Bhandari, Prime Minister Oli, CPN Presidents ‘Prachanda’ and Madhav Nepal, former Prime Minister Jhana Nath Khanal and Janata Samajbadi party leader Baburam Bhattarai.
China is primarily concerned about weaker communist influence in South Asia with the vertical split in the CPN into two factions, one led by Oli and the other by Prachanda, political observers here noted.
During his meetings with Oli and Prachanda, it emerged that the Chinese leader told them to make efforts for reunification, as the split in Nepal’s largest communist party will weaken the communist movement in South Asia, according to a senior leader of the faction led by Prachanda. of the PNC.
The Chinese leader has suggested two possible solutions to resolve the current political crisis in Nepal, he noted.
Under ‘Plan A’, the dissolved Chamber could be reinstated by the Supreme Court’s verdict followed by the reunification of the two factions, he said on condition of anonymity.
The Chinese leader has advised top PNC leaders to offer an alternative to Prime Minister Oli if Parliament is reinstated.
If the first option is not viable, then “Plan B” would be to contest the midterm elections through an electoral alliance between all the communist forces in Nepal, he added.
The leftists marching through the streets of Kathmandu against the leftist government is what worries China the most, he added.
“The Chinese leadership is not happy with Oli’s move,” he said. “Oli’s decision to dissolve parliament leading to the split in the largest party could serve the interests of the southern neighbor, the Chinese leader hinted during their high-level meetings,” he added.
The Chinese delegation also discussed with Nepalese leaders the possible impact of the dissolution of the Chamber on the political and economic spectrum of Nepal.
He also discussed with Nepalese leaders whether this would affect the stability and development of Nepal and warned of the possible negative impact on Chinese-funded projects and Chinese investments in Nepal, sources close to the NCP said.
The Chinese team also met with the main opposition chief of the Nepalese Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and discussed the latest political developments in the country.
Guo relayed an invitation to Deuba from the president Xi Jinping to visit China on the CCP’s centennial next year.
The invitation is considered significant here and political observers speculate that the Nepalese Congress may emerge as the strong force in the upcoming parliamentary elections, taking advantage of the divided left.
Previously, Gou traveled to Kathmandu in February 2018 when the Oli-led CPN-UML and the Prachanda-led NCP (Maoist Center) were ready to merge and form a unified communist party following the victory of their alliance in the general elections of 2017. Later, in May 2018, the two communist parties merged and formed a new party called the 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, prime minister, and other senior PNC leaders, including Prachanda, when Oli faced mounting pressure to resign.
Several political party leaders had described the series of meetings of the Chinese envoy with the leaders of the ruling party as interference in the internal political affairs of Nepal.
China’s political profile in Nepal has been on the rise in recent years with billions of dollars in investments under its billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative, including the Transhimalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network.
The CPC and NCP regularly participated in training programs. In September last year, the CPN had even organized a symposium, inviting some CCP leaders to Kathmandu to train Nepalese leaders on Xi Jinping Thought ahead of the Chinese president’s first visit to Nepal, according to reports. .
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