Hand-picking leadership in sister wings, parties undermine democracy

Sunita Baral, vice-chair of the All Nepal National Free Students’ Union, a sister wing of the CPN-UML, was nominated chairperson of the union on September 18.

Along with Baral two other office bearers of the UML’s student wing were in the race to become the union’s chair. However, the leadership of the mother party intervened, compelling two other aspirants to settle for vice-chairpersons. The party didn’t allow the democratic way—voting—for the position. Ever since 2016, when Nabina Lama was elected chairperson of the union, it hasn’t held its convention.

The union’s General Secretary Ain Mahar was appointed coordinator of the student wing of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) formed after a merger of the UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) in 2018. Baral’s handpicking was a second incident in the student wing of the main opposition party.

The trend of handpicking the leadership of the sister wings is not limited to the main opposition. On September 7, Suman Devkota was appointed coordinator of the Young Communist League, a youth wing of the CPN (Maoist Centre). Subodh Raj Sherpaili too was one of the contenders for the position.

However, Sherpaili had to give up after the leadership of the mother party stood for Devkota. Though there was dissatisfaction within the Maoist Centre’s youth wing, it succumbed to the decision of the party leadership.

The Maoist Centre itself hasn’t held its general convention since 2013 when Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who has led the Maoist party for over three decades now, was re-elected party chair. The party had said it would hold a “special convention” within one year. The party was then named UCPN (Maoist Centre). The special convention was never held.

The party has been postponing the convention for over eight years saying it merged with various parties at different times and this has even led to the change in the name of the party.