Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Koirala Has To Be Beat At His Own Game

andolan1Image by paramendra via Flickr

Gachchhadar faces action Earlier on Thursday morning, Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala asked Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal over the phone to appoint Gachchhadar as deputy prime minister ..... Koirala made the request to Nepal after he held a meeting with Gachchhadar at Koirala residence at Maharajgunj. NC leader Khum Bahadur Khadka accompanied Gachchhadar during the meeting.
Girija Koirala has to be beat at his own game for his recent foul play with the MJF. The need of the hour is to bring the party back from the brink of a vertical split and reunify it.

Upendra Yadav has to face the fact that him becoming Prime Minister was never an option this past month. Prachanda was never serious about the offer. The way for a MJF person to become Prime Minister is by winning big in the election next year. And you can't even win if you split the party, let alone win big.

A sane revival plan for the Nepali Congress would be to usher in a new era of internal democracy, to say good bye to the culture of nepotism. A sane revival plan would be to try and meet the aspirations of the Madhesi people who until recently were the base of that party. But instead the Nepali Congress is worse today on internal democracy and nepotism than it was last year. It stands clueless on federalism and security sector reform. Those who talk of the five development regions are not talking about federalism.

The Nepali Congress will see a bigger defeat next year than it did last year. The MJF decimated the Nepali Congress last year in the Terai. Next year the MJF has to wipe out the Nepali Congress from the Terai. For that the MJF has to stay united.

Splitting the party makes absolutely no sense.

Internal democracy means Upendra Yadav might no longer be leading the party down the line. At the next convention the party might elect someone else. That is the democratic way. If all the Madhesi parties unite, as I hope they do before the elections next year, then that unified party would hold a new convention. That convention would elect a new leader to the party. That new leader could be anybody. Could be Upendra Yadav, could be Bijay Gachhedar, could be Hridayesh Tripathy, could be Rajendra Mahto, could be Sarita Giri, could be Jay Prakash Gupta. It is for the democratic process to decide who. And once decided there has to be a post election reconciliation among all the contenders for the top job.

Critiquing Upendra Yadav's Leadership Style

His primary downside has been that he does not consult enough. Someone in his position needs to constantly be consulting with all his MPs, all members of his central committee, as many district leaders as possible. Keep alive as many bilateral channels of communication as possible. Seek out a wide range of people to ask for their opinions before making decisions small and big. Make people feel included in all decision making processes. Have robust discussions among the top leaders on a wide variety of topics on a regular basis. This is something he needs to work on.

The MJF Must Stay Intact
MJF: Is Reconciliation Possible?
The MJF Drama

Sketch portrait of Girija Prasad Koirala, Prim...Image via Wikipedia


MJF Will Emerge Stronger
I Give Madhav Nepal Six Months
Upendra Yadav Is Going To Lead The MJF In The New Government
The Army Issue Has To Be Discussed In The Parliament
MJF: No Harm Done
Upendra Yadav Should Be Leading The MJF Team In The New Government
Contents 2009
Contents 2008
Contents 2007
Contents 2006 (2)
Contents 2006
Contents 2005
MJF: Upendra Yadav Is The Leader

In The News

MPRF toward vertical split after Gachchhadar faction claims official party Republica Sixteen Central Committee (CC) members of the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) led by senior leader Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar filed a petition at the Election Commission claiming the party´s name, flag and symbol, thereby pushing the party ultimately toward an unavoidable split. ....... The NGO-turned party, the fourth largest in the Constituent Assembly (CA), has been facing an internal conflict over the last one month after the fall of the Maoist-led government on May 4. ....... Gachchhadar said he was compelled to move the Election Commission after the Yadav-faction turned down repeated offers over the last five days for reconciliation and unity in the party.

andolan5Image by paramendra via Flickr

....... Gachchhadar said that the party can still remain intact if the action taken against the seven leaders is revoked. ..... “They are no longer our party´s members and any move by them is not legal,” said Yadav ..... A telephone interview of 32 CC members done by myrepublica.com on Monday had found 11 members supporting Gachchhadar.
Gachchhadar claims majority in CC, stakes claim for being official
NC, UML cadres warned to leave village
Neither faction has majority in MPRF central committee
3 contenders for home ministry in UML
Gachchhadar claims majority in CC, stakes claim for being official

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The MJF Must Stay Intact

Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, NepalImage via Wikipedia

The most important thing for now is to make sure the MJF does not split. If joining the Madhav Nepal government keeps the MJF intact, the party should join the government. If staying outside the government keeps the MJF intact, the party should stay outside the government. If keeping Bijay Gachhedar Deputy Prime Minister keeps the MJF intact, Gachhedar should stay on as Deputy Prime Minister. If making Upendra Yadav Deputy Prime Minister keeps the MJF intact, Yadav should be made Deputy Prime Minister.

The MJF was a party born out of identity politics. That identity politics has gone one step further. The Yadavs, Tharus, and the Muslims are three equally numerous, proud groups in the Terai. The Yadavs have to remember that. If the MJF central committee has too many Yadavs, the parliamentary party has a better balance of Yadavs and non-Yadavs.

gonarpuraImage by paramendra via Flickr


It is a good thing if the party has several strong personalities at the central level. Upendra Yadav is a Yadav. Gachhedar is a Tharu. Gupta is a non-Yadav. Karima Begam is a Muslim. Sharad Singh Bhandari is a Pahadi origin Teraiwasi whose family has lived in the Terai a few generations. Those are all important constituent groups in the Terai. It is important to strike the right power balances and keep the party intact.
  • Upendra Yadav and Bijay Gachhedar, meet in person, one on one.
  • Jay Prakash Gupta, Sharad Singh Bhandari, make that happen. (Bhandari won by a margin of a hundred votes last year. If the party splits, he is not coming back to the parliament, that part is guaranteed.)
  • Seek a compromise formula.
  • Let Bijay Gachhedar keep the DPM chair for six months, and Upendra Yadav for the other six months. This government is going to last but a year max.
  • Seek a powerful ministry for Upendra Yadav.
  • Bargain for the maximum number of berths for the MJF in the cabinet.
  • Bring back all the expelled leaders.
  • Keep the party intact.
Putting The MJF Fire Out
MJF: Is

andolan5Image by paramendra via Flickr

Reconciliation Possible?
The MJF Drama
MJF Will Emerge Stronger
I Give Madhav Nepal Six Months
Upendra Yadav Is Going To Lead The MJF In The New Government
The Army Issue Has To Be Discussed In The Parliament

andolan2Image by paramendra via Flickr


MJF: No Harm Done
Upendra Yadav Should Be Leading The MJF Team In The New Government
Contents 2009
Contents 2008
Contents 2007
Contents 2006 (2)

andolan3Image by paramendra via Flickr


Contents 2006
Contents 2005
MJF: Upendra Yadav Is The Leader
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Putting The MJF Fire Out

MJF: Is Reconciliation Possible?
The MJF Drama
MJF Will Emerge Stronger
I Give Madhav Nepal Six Months
Upendra Yadav Is Going To Lead The MJF In The New Government
The Army Issue Has To Be Discussed In The Parliament
MJF: No Harm Done
Upendra Yadav Should Be Leading The MJF Team In The New Government
Contents 2009
Contents 2008
Contents 2007
Contents 2006 (2)
Contents 2006
Contents 2005
MJF: Upendra Yadav Is The Leader



The most important thing for the MJF right now is to make sure the party does not split. And the way to resolve all outstanding issues is through dialogue and open voting. Bijay Gachhedar showing majority support in both the central committee and the parliamentary party is a turning point, if he has done that.

The physical attack on some of the women lawmakers of the MJF in Birgunj is shameful.

Majority vote gets to make the decisions. If that means that the party president's line of thinking ends up in the minority then he simply has to accept that.

How to prevent a vertical split?
  1. Upendra Yadav and Bijay Gachhedar should meet in person, one on one.
  2. They should go back to square one.
  3. I think it is fair to say Gachhedar has to resign from the cabinet. Or Upendra Yadav could exhibit some magnanimity and let it be.
  4. The two need to realize that there will be elections in less than a year. If the party splits now, both factions will lose. People who are MPs now will not come back to the parliament. They must stay united if they are to have a shot next year.
It is ridiculous that Madhav Nepal and Girija Koirala connived to bring about this split. The MJF had already decided to join the Madhav Nepal government. And it had already been decided that Bijay Gachhedar was going to get a powerful ministry. But that was not enough. The Nepal-Koirala duo went ahead and appointed Gachhedar the Deputy Prime Minister.

It is not easy to wake up an oppressed people like the Madhesis are. It is not easy to unite leaders of an oppressed community. Infighting happens very easily. That is but a symptom of powerlessness.

Upendra Yadav's Mistakes
  • Why did he not get himself elected parliamentary party leader after the April 2008 election last year?
  • His leadership style has had its weak points. As the party leader he should constantly be seeking out all his MPs and all members of his central committee one on one. What do you think of this? What do you think of that? He has become aloof since getting into power last year.
  • He misread the mood inside his party and inside the country regarding the Maoists. Many people felt it was a choice between Maoist autocracy and a new government in Madhav Nepal's leadership. For him to try to push the line to support the government from the outside was a wrong one.
  • When a large number of his MPs came out openly supporting Gachhedar, he should have made an extra effort to reach out to them.
Bijay Gachhedar's Mistakes
  • The number one thing Bijay Gachhedar has to realize right now is that if the party splits, he is not going to come back to the parliament next year. He is going to lose the election next year.
  • That is going to be extra true of many of the other MPs.
  • Bijay Gachhedar has to realize that Prachanda, Madhav Nepal and Girija Koirala all want the MJF to split. Prachanda offered the Prime Ministership to Upendra Yadav without meaning to. Now Koirala and Nepal have put Gachhedar in the Deputy Prime Minister's chair with the sole intention of splitting the MJF. There is no other purpose.
  • If Gachhedar is no longer a MP next year, he is going to be out of the political scene for the next four years.
  • And the way things are looking, the Madhav Nepal led government might not last six months. Then what? Will he split the party just to be Deputy Prime Minister for a few short months? That is not worth it.
How To Seek Middle Ground?
  • The number one thing for the two leaders to do is to meet in person. Stop talking through the media. Stop talking through supporters.
  • Agree to seek middle ground.
  • Upendra Yadav should come out fully wanting to participate in the Madhav Nepal government. A lot of his MPs are unhappy that he wants to stay out of the government.
  • Upendra Yadav should even be willing to accept Bijay Gachhedar as Deputy Prime Minister for a few months. Strike out a compromise formula. Both Bijay Gachhedar and Upendra Yadav get powerful ministries. Bijay Gachhedar stays DPM for six months, then Upendra Yadav becomes DPM for the final six months.
  • Bring back all the expelled leaders into the party fold.
  • Claim unity.
  • If they can do that, this will have been political jujutsu. You win over Nepal and Koirala at their own game. You fooled them into thinking you were fighting. And look what happened? The MJF got the Deputy Prime Ministership without being the second largest party.
Starting Point

The starting point for all further negotiations has to be that splitting the party is not an option. That will be political harakiri. If they split, both factions will end up being irrelevant in about a year. People will say, there used to be a Terai Congress, there also used to be a MJF.

I think Jay Prakash Gupta and Sharad Singh Bhandari could play important conciliatory roles right now.

Stay united now, and the MJF has a shot at the Prime Ministership next year. Split now and Yadav and Gachhedar are not even going to be MPs in a year.

In The News

MJF meeting venue turns into battleground; three lawmakers among those hurt NepalNews cadres of the rival factions engaged in violent clashes ...... Seven persons including three lawmakers of Gachchhadar faction, Durga Devi Sha, Kalawati Paswan and Karima Begum, who were leading the protesting group, were injured in the clash. ...... 26 out of the 35 central committee members are participating in the central committee meeting. ...... MJF has been virtually split with the Gachchhadar faction submitting the signatures of majority central committee members and lawmakers at the Election Commission on Tuesday
Gachchhadar informs EC he has majority in MJF Gachchhadar reached the commission office in Kantipath along with 17 central committee members and 29 lawmakers and informed the EC that he has support from 50 percent central committee members and 65 percent of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) lawmakers.
PM Nepal extends olive branch to Maoists as latter reciprocates with pre-condition
MPRF toward vertical split after Gachchhadar faction claims official party Republica
MPRF toward vertical split after Gachchhadar faction claims official party
MPRF rival factions clash, 3 CA members injured Durga Devi Mahato, Kalawati Paswan and Karima Begam ...... supporters of the Yadav faction chased away the rival group with wooden sticks and targeted them with bricks. A motorcycle Begam was riding vandalized in the clash. ..... Organizing a press conference in the evening, the CA members beaten up in the afternoon said that they are hurt by the tendency of Madhesi leaders to hire gangsters to beat up Madhesi women. ..... Paswan said that she did not have any alternative to crying when an unruly mob dragged her in the middle of the road. ...... Durga Devi, another CA member injured in the clash, alleged that Upendra Yadav was not a leader of Madhesi people. “He spent almost nine months visiting abroad at expense to state coffers,” she said. “He has now become a treacherous leader instead of a messiah of Madhesis.” ...... She alleged that they were attacked in a planned manner as they did not sign papers as asked by party chairman Yadav to show a majority in his favor. ....... Altogether 16 of the 35 central committee members, led by parliamentary party leader Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, had filed a petition at the EC on Tuesday. “A majority has been shown by including the names of even those expelled by the party’s central committee,” he said. “That is meaningless.”
1. Chairman Upendra Yadav
2. General Secretary Ramsahay Yadav
3. Secretary Ratneshwor Lal Kayastha
4. Treasurer Renu Yadav
5. Lalbabu Raut
6. Mohammad Khalid Siddique
7. Mohammad Istiyaque
8. Abdul Jabbar
9. Ram Lal Sutiyar
10. Jay Prakash Yadav ´Rahul´
11. Rabindra Yadav
12. Ranju Verma
13. Dev Narayan Yadav
14. Ganesh Yadav
15. Sahashram Yadav
16. Shivaji Prasad Yadav
17. Kabuli Paswan
18. Bijay Yadav
19. Krishnadev Yadav
20. BP Yadav
21. Umesh Lal Dash
22. Arjun Thapa
23. Jagadish Singh
24. Nandan Datta
25. Dr Rambir Ray
26. Yogendra Sahni
JP Gupta in India
Chairman Yadav also termed Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Nepali Congress President and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala as Indian agents. He claimed that the two party leaders have a main role in bringing the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum to the verge of a split. ...... A central committee meeting of the MPRF faction led by Yadav concluded in Birgunj Wednesday by passing a nine-point decision. ........ The meeting demanded formation of a national government for writing a new constitution and promoting inclusive democracy in the country. ........ The meeting also decided to take disciplinary action against four others, besides the seven CC members including the party’s parliamentary leader Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar. The four are Rabindra Thakur, Nasir Siddhiqi, Asha Chaturbedi and Sanjaya Kumar Sah. The meeting formed a three-member election committee to pick a new parliamentary party leader. ....... another MPRF faction led by Gachchhadar also held its Central Committee meeting in Kathmandu Wednesday. ....... formed a three-member committee to look for a new party office. ..... Dev said the meeting also formed a five-member committee with Gachchhadar as head to finalize the power-sharing in the new government ....................... A leader said Joint-Chairman Jay Prakash Gupta is absent as he is currently in India. ..... Nehal Khan, vice chairman of the party´s Birgunj Municipality unit, distributed a list of the 26 members to reporters at the venue.
Gachchhadar claims majority in CC, stakes claim for being official The internal conflict reached a decisive phase last Thursday when Prime Minister Nepal appointed Gachchhadar deputy prime minister though the later´s name was not approved by his own party. ........ Gachchhadar said that the party can still remain intact if the action taken against the seven leaders is revoked. ..... CC members close to Gachchhdar said that they have not been invited to the CC meeting which is expected to endorse the action against the seven leaders. ...... A telephone interview of 32 CC members done by myrepublica.com on Monday had found 11 members supporting Gachchhadar. ........ Gachchhadar is now short of just two members for a majority in the party´s 35-member Central Committee. ....... According to Election Commission law, the faction with a majority of CC members behind it will have the party name, flag and election symbol. .... Gachchhadar also submitted the signatures of 29 CA members representing the MPRF to the Constituent Assembly, reinforcing his support to the government. MPRF has 53 members in the CA.
Neither faction has majority in MPRF central committee
Fight on for party's control in MPRF
MPRF toward vertical split after Gachchhadar faction claims official party


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