The Nepal Communist Party, abbreviated NCP ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी, ) is a defunct communist party of Nepal. It was founded on 17 May 2018, from the unification of two
leftist parties,
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (; abbr. CPN (UML)) is the largest political party in Nepal on the basis of memberships. As per the results of recent elections, ''CPN (UML)'' stands as the second largest party of Nepal ...
and
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN Maoist Centre, or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communist P ...
. The unification was completed by the Party Unification Coordination Committee, after eight months of negotiation. The two predecessor parties subsequently dissolved, making way for the new united party. The party retained the electoral symbol of the CPN (UML), the sun.
The party was the largest political party in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
,
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
and in all
provincial assemblies except
No. 2. Former Prime Minister of Nepal
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pre ...
and
K. P. Sharma Oli, both served as the chairmen of the party. After internal conflicts in the party and the
dissolution of parliament
The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assemb ...
, the party splintered into two major factions. On 8 March 2021, Nepal's Supreme Court stated that the allocation of the name "Nepal Communist Party" upon the merger of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre), and by extension the merger itself, was void ''ab initio'', as the name was already allotted to
a party led by
Rishiram Kattel, and that the NCP stood "dismissed".
Upon the ruling, the two predecessor parties were revived in their original state immediately prior to the merger, although should the two wish to merge again with proper procedure being followed, it would be fully allowed.
History
Left alliance and unification
On 3 October 2017, the two major
communist parties
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
, the
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (; abbr. CPN (UML)) is the largest political party in Nepal on the basis of memberships. As per the results of recent elections, ''CPN (UML)'' stands as the second largest party of Nepal ...
and the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN Maoist Centre, or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communist P ...
who were second and third largest party of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
respectively announced a coalition for the upcoming
legislative and provincial election. This was joined by
Naya Shakti Party led by former prime minister
Baburam Bhattarai
Baburam Bhattarai ( ne, बाबुराम भट्टराई, ; born 18 June 1954), also known by his nom de guerre Laaldhwoj, is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister, who presently serves as leader of the Nepal Socialist Party ...
. This was a practice to side line the largest party of Nepal,
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party of ...
from government and decrease its strength in parliament. The three parties also announced plans for unification following the election with the formation of a Unification Coordination Committee.
On 14 October 2017,
Naya Shakti Party broke from the alliance citing differences with the two parties. The alliance between the two parties won a majority in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
and in six of the seven
provincial assemblies. Following the elections, it was decided that
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) CPN may refer to:
* Calpine Corporation, New York Stock Exchange symbol CPN
* Canadian Perinatal Network
* ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter''
* Carpinteria (Amtrak station), California, Amtrak station code CPN
* Caspian Airlines (Iran), ICAO airline ...
would get chief ministers in
Province No. 1,
Bagmati Province
Bagmati Province ( ne, बाग्मती प्रदेश, ''Bagmati Pradesh'') is one of the seven provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. The province is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest provinc ...
,
Gandaki Province
Gandaki Province ( ne, गण्डकी प्रदेश ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borde ...
and
Lumbini Province
Lumbini Province ( ne, लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbinī pradēśa) is a province in western Nepal. It borders Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar o ...
, and
CPN (Maoist Centre)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN Maoist Centre, or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communist P ...
would get chief ministers in
Karnali Province
Karnali Province ( ne, कर्णाली प्रदेश) is one of the seven federal provinces of Nepal formed by the new constitution which was adopted on 20 September 2015. The total area of the province is covering 18.97% of the cou ...
and
Sudurpashchim Province. The party also won a two-thirds majority in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
. Following the formation of the
Federal Parliament of Nepal
The Federal Parliament of Nepal ( ne, संघीय संसद नेपाल, translit=Saṅghīya Sansada Nēpāla, label=none) is the bicameral federal and supreme legislature of Nepal established in 2018. It consists of the National ...
, parliamentary party leader of the
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (; abbr. CPN (UML)) is the largest political party in Nepal on the basis of memberships. As per the results of recent elections, ''CPN (UML)'' stands as the second largest party of Nepal ...
,
Khadga Prasad Oli
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli ( ne, खड्गप्रसाद शर्मा ओली, ; born 22 February 1952) is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served three terms as prime minister from 11 October 2015 to 3 Augu ...
was sworn in as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
on 15 February 2018. The merger of the two parties was initially announced for 22 April 2018, to coincide with the formation of the original Communist Party of Nepal in 1949, but the unification was put on hold citing insufficient time to sort out remaining issues.
The
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) CPN may refer to:
* Calpine Corporation, New York Stock Exchange symbol CPN
* Canadian Perinatal Network
* ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter''
* Carpinteria (Amtrak station), California, Amtrak station code CPN
* Caspian Airlines (Iran), ICAO airline ...
and
CPN (Maoist Centre)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN Maoist Centre, or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communist P ...
dissolved their central committees on 17 May 2018 and the new party was formed on the same day. Khadga Prasad Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal would serve as joint chairmen of the party until a general convention was held. The party also named its Standing Committee consisting of 26 members of the former UML and 19 members of the former Maoist Centre on 12 June 2018. The provincial committees of the party were finalized on 4 December 2018. The district committees were finalized on 22 April 2019, and the district in-charges were appointed on 22 July 2019.
Internal conflict
In a party secretariat meeting on 21 August 2019, senior leader of the party
Madhav Kumar Nepal
Madhav Kumar Nepal ( ne, माधवकुमार नेपाल, ; born 6 March 1953), is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served as Prime Minister of Nepal from 25 May 2009 to 6 February 2011 for nearly two years. ...
registered a note on dissent regarding the work division in the party and criticizing the two co-chairmen,
K.P. Sharma Oli and
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pre ...
, for not completing the merger process sooner. He also criticized Oli for not following the "One Leader, One Position" policy that the party had decided on and called for Oli to either resign as party leader or as prime minister. A meeting of the secretariat on 21 November 2019, the party decided on continuing with two leaders but made Dahal the executive head of the party. The meeting also decided on letting Oli complete his full term as prime minister instead of the agreement between the two leaders to lead the government in turns. The cabinet was also reshuffled after criticisms of the government from within the party. A rift within the party was also formed after some factions in the party did not favor a grant under the
Millennium Challenge Corporation
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries that ...
that the government had agreed with the United States government. A task force formed by the party decided on not endorsing the agreement without amendments.
Bam Dev Gautam was appointed as the party's vice-chairman after the central committee of the party amended the party statute. Party co-chairman,
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pre ...
and
Madhav Kumar Nepal
Madhav Kumar Nepal ( ne, माधवकुमार नेपाल, ; born 6 March 1953), is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served as Prime Minister of Nepal from 25 May 2009 to 6 February 2011 for nearly two years. ...
criticized the Oli governments handling of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and leaders within the party urged the senior leadership in the party to call a meeting of the party secretariat to discuss the government work. At the meeting of the party secretariat some leaders called on Oli's resignation but a later meeting decided to allow Oli to after he agreed to work under the party's instructions and let Dahal perform his duties as the party's executive leader. A panel formed by the party to solve the internal dispute proposed that a national convention of the party be held in April 2021 to solve issues regarding the party unity and the proposal was endorsed by the standing committee of the party. Another cabinet reshuffle was done on 16 October 2020 but Oli was criticized by the party for not consulting the party.
On 14 November 2020, co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal presented a political document at a party secretariat meeting that accused K.P. Sharma Oli of not following the party's directions, unilaterally leading the government and turning a blind eye towards corruption. In response, Oli attacked Dahal for not letting him the government, promoting factionalism and nepotism as well as not letting victims of the
Nepalese Civil War
The Nepalese Civil War was a protracted armed conflict that took place in the former Kingdom of Nepal from 1996 to 2006. It saw fighting between the Nepalese royal government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) throughout the country ...
get justice.
Vertical split
On 20 December 2020, K.P. Sharma Oli called on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to dissolve the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
and call for fresh elections.
In an address to the nation, Oli said he dissolved the house after the party had not let him work as prime minister and that a no-confidence motion was being prepared against him from within the party. The decision was met with criticism from within the party and seven ministers close to the Dahal–Nepal faction in his cabinet resigned in protest.
K.P. Oli called a meeting of the central committee of the leaders in the party close to him and added 556 members to the existing 446-member committee of the party. The new central committee was to organize a party unity convention in November 2021. The meeting also removed
Narayan Kaji Shrestha as party spokesperson and replaced him with
Pradeep Gyawali.
The Dahal–Nepal faction of the party also organized its own central committee meeting with 310 members of the original central committee and replaced K.P. Oli as party co-chairman with
Madhav Kumar Nepal
Madhav Kumar Nepal ( ne, माधवकुमार नेपाल, ; born 6 March 1953), is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served as Prime Minister of Nepal from 25 May 2009 to 6 February 2011 for nearly two years. ...
.
The meeting also decided to protest against the government to restore the House of Representatives.
Election Commission registry
The party got registered with the
Election Commission of Nepal
The Election Commission ( ne, निर्वाचन आयोग, नेपाल; ''Nirvācana āyōg, Nēpāl'') is a constitutional body responsible for conducting and monitoring elections, as well as registering parties and candidates and r ...
on 7 June 2018 under the name Nepal Communist Party (NCP) after the Election Commission of Nepal refused to register the new party as another party called
Nepal Communist Party
The Nepal Communist Party, abbreviated NCP ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी, ) is a defunct communist party of Nepal. It was founded on 17 May 2018, from the unification of two leftist parties, Communist ...
was already registered, the latter being a small group led by
Rishi Kattel
Rishi Kattel ( ne, ऋषि कट्टेल) is the leader of one of the communist parties in Nepal. He is currently the Chairman of Communist Party of Nepal, which was formed in 2013 along with other communist leaders Lok Narayan Subedi, J ...
. Kattel challenged the Election Commission decision at the
Supreme Court.
As a reference to the NCP's registration, the party became colloquially known as the NCP double. Following the split between the Oli and Dahal-Nepal factions, the Election Commission declined to recognize neither faction as the legitimate holders of the NCP's registration.
On 8 March 2021, Nepal's Supreme Court stated that the allocation of the name ''Nepal Communist Party'' upon the merger of the CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre), and by extension the merger itself, was void ''ab initio'', as the name was already allotted to the party led by Kattel, and that the NCP stood "dismissed".
Upon the ruling, the two predecessor parties were revived in their original state immediately prior to the merger, although should the two wish to merge again with proper procedure being followed, that it would be fully allowed.
Ideology
As part of the original merger agreement, the party's ideology consisted of
Marxism–Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various c ...
and support for a
multi-party system
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...
in Nepal, while the party itself remains officially
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
and governed by
democratic centralism. The party also favors
socialism-oriented people's democracy in the short-term that would eventually lead into communism.
Organization and structure
Central organization
Secretariat
A nine-member Secretariat (also known as High Command) of the party was created. It included:
* Chairperson:
KP Sharma Oli
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli ( ne, खड्गप्रसाद शर्मा ओली, ; born 22 February 1952) is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served three terms as prime minister from 11 October 2015 to 3 Augu ...
and
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pre ...
* General Secretary:
Bishnu Prasad Paudel
* Members:
Madhav Kumar Nepal
Madhav Kumar Nepal ( ne, माधवकुमार नेपाल, ; born 6 March 1953), is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served as Prime Minister of Nepal from 25 May 2009 to 6 February 2011 for nearly two years. ...
,
Jhala Nath Khanal
Jhala Nath Khanal ( ne, झलनाथ खनाल, ; born 20 May 1950) is a Nepalese politician who was the 35th Prime Minister of Nepal from February 2011 to August 2011. He was previously the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified ...
,
Bamdev Gautam
Bam Dev Gautam ( ne, बाम देव गौतम) is a Nepalese politician and the former Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal. A member of CPN (Unified Socialist), Gautam is a former Senior vice Chairman of Communist Party of N ...
,
Narayan Kaji Shrestha,
Ishwor Pokhrel,
Ram Bahadur Thapa
Ram Bahadur Thapa ( ne, राम बहादुर थापा), also widely known by his nom de guerre Badal, is a Nepali politician and former Minister for Home Affairs. He is the vice president of CPN (UML).
Political life
Before the ...
.
Politburo
A 135-member politburo was formed after the formation of the standing committee and central committee.
Standing Committee
The 45-member Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau included 26 members from
CPN (UML) CPN may refer to:
* Calpine Corporation, New York Stock Exchange symbol CPN
* Canadian Perinatal Network
* ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter''
* Carpinteria (Amtrak station), California, Amtrak station code CPN
* Caspian Airlines (Iran), ICAO airli ...
and 19 from
CPN (Maoist Centre)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN Maoist Centre, or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communist P ...
.
Central Committee
The central committee had a total of 441 members, including 241 from
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (; abbr. CPN (UML)) is the largest political party in Nepal on the basis of memberships. As per the results of recent elections, ''CPN (UML)'' stands as the second largest party of Nepal ...
, and 200 from
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN Maoist Centre, or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communist P ...
.
Lower-level organizations
* Provincial committees: 151-member committee for each of the seven
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
* District committees: 77-member committee for each of the 77
districts
* Metropolitan committees
* Sub-metropolitan committees
* Municipal committees
* Rural municipal committees
* Ward committees
Federal government
Presence in various provinces
Leadership
Party leadership
Chairmen
*
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pre ...
, 2018–2021
![Prachanda_2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Prachanda_2009.jpg)
*
Khadga Prasad Oli
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli ( ne, खड्गप्रसाद शर्मा ओली, ; born 22 February 1952) is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served three terms as prime minister from 11 October 2015 to 3 Augu ...
, 2018–2021
Vice-chairmen
*
Bam Dev Gautam, 2019–2021
General secretaries
*
Bishnu Prasad Paudel, 2018–2021
List of prime ministers
Provincial governments
In 2020, NCP headed the provincial governments in
Province No. 1,
Bagmati
, "Tiger Gate")
, source1_location = Shivapuri, Sundarijal, Kathmandu, Nepal
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, mouth = Confluence with Kamala River
, mouth_location = Jagmohra, Bihar, India
, mouth_coo ...
,
Gandaki,
Lumbini
Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...
,
Karnali and
Sudurpahschim provinces.
Breakaway factions
Notes
See also
*
2021 split in Nepal Communist Party
* Communist Party of Nepal (Unity National Campaign)
References
{{Maoism
2018 establishments in Nepal
Organisations based in Kathmandu
Political parties established in 2018
Political parties disestablished in 2021
Formerly ruling communist parties
Defunct communist parties in Nepal
2021 disestablishments in Nepal