Maoist leader Pun to visit China, suspicion of Chinese efforts to revive left alliance

Deputy General Secretary of CPN Maoist Centre, Barsha Man Pun who is recently elected to the House of Representatives from Rolpa, is going to leave for China again. He is heading for China on Sunday(today) or on Tuesday.

He had gone to China several times before for his treatment, but this time he is going there at a time when the vote count of the general elections nears completion and jockeying to form the government begins.

This time too although he is said to be going for treatment, there is a suspicion in political circles that China may make full use of his visit once again.

Recently, Pun’s health condition deteriorated following a hectic election campaign, according to a source close to him. Similarly, According to his family sources, he is going to China again for a follow-up of his health care.

Pun has been suffering from hereditary hyper-bilirubinemia, a kind of jaundice. His bilirubin in his blood has shot up, so he needs to go for a follow-up treatment, a source close to Pun’s family said.

Earlier, he was admitted to the Third People’s Hospital in Shenzhen, China for treatment of jaundice. He had returned home on last January after recovering.

However, Pun was invited by the International Department of the Communist Party of China, according to many sources.

Since the elections of the House of Representatives and the Provincial Assembly have been completed recently, it is expected that political meetings and discussions can be held in China. As the counting of votes for the election comes to the end, it is seen that no party will get a majority so far. Similarly, it is seen that it is also very difficult for the current ruling coalition to get a majority.

Nepali Congress is going to be the largest party in the ruling coalition. Candidates of coalition parties like Maoist, CPN-US, LSP, and Jan Morcha have also won. However, since the majority is not reached, it is not clear whether the parties will maintain the ruling coalition or proceed to cooperate with other parties.

On Saturday only, a meeting was held between the NC President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) for the formation of the future government. There has been a general agreement about advancing the power coalition in the talks. However, since the Deputy General Secretary of  Maoist will be heading China again, it is assumed that there may be a discussion about awakening the left alliance in Nepal for once again.

In the past, China played a role in bringing Nepal’s communist parties together. However, China’s efforts proved to be futile after the CPN, which was formed by the unity of the UML and the Maoists, split again. China had also tried to get a left alliance for the recently concluded elections. However, the alliance could not be formed as the parties here did not agree.

China has been influencing the Maoist and UML leaders from different angles to maintain its hegemony in Nepal with large projects owned by the Chinese government

Currently, the post of Chinese ambassador to Nepal is vacant. China is preparing to send its senior diplomat Chen Song to replace the previous ambassador, Hou Yanqi. In such a situation, it is assumed that China can discuss with Pun again to form a government in the left coalition in Nepal.

A few days ago, UML Chair KP Sharma Oli telephoned Maoist Chair Prachanda and asked him to form a government being together. Prachanda also had given a positive response to Oli’s proposal and said that they would meet later for a further discussion on this matter.

Leader Pun is also in the favor of moving forward with the communist parties including the UML rather than the Congress.