Dedicated to Daniel Pearl

Maoists are in a mood to resume armed struggle if they don’t secure majority in the Constituent Assembly (CA) poll. “It’s a test case for us,” said a Maoist commander during a recent meeting with me. He said the Maoists will resume armed struggle if they lose in the CA poll. “We must win in the Constituent Assembly poll,” he said, adding, “If we lose, we will raise arms. Nobody can stop us from raising arms because our ultimate destination to establish a communist republic.”

He said democracy has different definitions for poor and rich people. “Since we fight for the poor people, the wealthy people feel their democratic rights are seized while poor are enjoying their rights,” he said. He also claimed poor and rich can’t entertain the fruits of democracy at a time. “Our democracy is for poor and the rich must compromise with many of their rights,” he said. He claimed that the Maoist party  has already decided to establish a communist republic. “Our ultimate goal is a communist republic and we are trying to see if it is possible to establish through election. If we can’t establish through election, we will capture the state power,” he said.

It’s strange to hear from a responsible Maoist leader while the Maoist party has decided to go to CA poll with full force. The leader says nobody should have any confusion that the Maoists will establish a communist republic at any cost.
It may be remembered that Maoist second-in-command leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai had some few weeks ago said the Maoists wouldn’t accept defeat in the CA poll. He had warned that the Maoists can never lose in the CA poll. “If we lose in the CA poll, it’s not the poll,” he had said. It underscores the Maoists’ intention to use the election as yet another strategy to bolster their strength. Dr Bhattarai had said that it’s a conspiracy if the Maoists lose in the poll.

Everybody should seriously take note of these developments before the CA poll takes place.