When Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal kicked out Nepali Congress from his coalition and embraced the CPN-UML on March 4, many political pundits interpreted the development as a course correction by two communist leaders who had parted ways three years ago following bitter disputes.

The dramatic turn of events that led to the chairmen of the three communist parties—KP Sharma Oli of the CPN-UML, Dahal of the Maoist Centre and Madhav Kumar Nepal of the CPN (Unified Socialist)—coming together had many assume that the coalition was a prelude to communist unification.

The three leaders were in the Nepal Communist Party—formed after unifying the CPN-UML and Maoist Centre in 2018 following an electoral alliance in 2017. The unity among the two largest parties, however, didn’t last for more than three years.

As there are speculations about communist unity, this time around, the leaders seem cautious while speaking on reunification.

Prime Minister and chair of the Maoist Centre Dahal and CPN-UML chair Oli on Monday expressed similar views on the reunification of communist parties.

While addressing the ‘Diamond Jubilee’ of establishment of the Nepal Communist Party, the two leaders said that this time around they wouldn’t go for party unity in a haste.

In 2017, the two largest communist parties—the CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre— forged a pre-poll alliance and later unified the party. The parties together garnered almost a two-thirds majority in the federal parliament and Oli ran the first-ever communist majority government in the country. However, the party was embroiled in a feud between the factions led by the top leaders.

Possibly, learning from the experience, Prime Minister Dahal, while addressing the event on Monday, said that they are not in a mood for communist unity immediately.

“Now we are not in favour of communist unity, unlike in the past,” Prime Minister Dahal said. “I feel like we were a little too enthusiastic when we unified the party last time, but this time around we are focusing on cooperation to lay the ground for party unity.”

Good cooperation among the communist bloc in the present government can pave the way for the party unity in the future, Dahal said.

However, earlier in the day, Dahal’s message on the same issue was different while addressing a separate function in the presence of Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Inaugurating the third annual central assembly meeting held by the Nar Bahadur Karmacharya Memorial Foundation at Chyasal, Lalitpur, Prime Minister Dahal emphasised unity between the communist forces.

“The unity and cooperation among the communist parties of Nepal is necessary and the communist leaders should be ready even to take risks for that,” Prime Minister Dahal said. “We must take a risk for the unity of the communist parties, for national integrity and for the future of the communists. And we are on that path.”

Dahal, however, changed his tone in the event where Oli was present.

CPN-UML chair Oli is more cautious about making announcements about communist unity. “If the communist leaders express their desire for party unity not long after the split, a question will immediately be raised as to why we had split earlier,” Oli said.

On April 20, while presenting his political report at a meeting of the CPN-UML’s National Representatives Council, party chair Oli expressed his reluctance to endorse the agenda of communist unity. Oli preferred alliance among like-minded forces over left polarisation.

“Cooperation among like-minded parties is what we need,” Oli’s political report read. “But it is neither necessary nor beneficial to have polarisation of the communist or the socialist forces.”

Oli further highlighted the need to foster trust and cooperation among various ideological groups, suggesting unity should evolve naturally as trust deepens.

He, however, didn’t rule out unity among like-minded forces. “As cooperation between the parties deepens and an environment of trust is built, those like-minded parties gradually can come together,” he said.

On Monday, Oli repeated the same message on communist unity. “This is not a time for communist unity; rather we need to join hands with other parties too,” he said. “People who are talking about the possibility of communist unity immediately are doing so just for their self-satisfaction.”

A few days back, Unified Socialist General Secretary Ghanashayam Bhusal in a programme had said if UML and Maoists change their political attitude, the unity among the communist parties cannot be ruled out.

Also, second-rung leaders don’t seem quite excited about party reunification.

Earlier Bishnu Paudel, a vice-chair of the UML, in an interview with the Post had denied the immediate possibility of communist unity. Asked if the UML and the Maoist Centre could come together in the next election, Paudel said, “The UML will consolidate leftist forces. But the modality will be different. The phase of uniting parties by bringing together a handful of so-called bigwigs is over. We will instead bring together scattered genuine left groups and individuals.”

When UML top leaders prefer cooperation among like-minded parties, former President Bidya Devi Bhandari, who was vice-chair of the UML before being elected as the President of Nepal in 2015, urged the leaders to ponder why communists in Nepal are divided into multiple parties.

“When the Nepali Communist movement is celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, we also need to analyse the reason behind the split and divisions among the communist parties,” Bhandari said. “Have the communist parties of Nepal split due to differences in political principles and ideologies or is it happening due to positional aspirations of the leaders?”

Khagendra Prasai, a left-leaning political analyst, said Nepali communist parties and their activities are not transparent. “They work in opaque ways. So it is hard to analyse their public statements,” he said. “Even second-rung leaders may not be informed about discussions among top leaders.”

But if the statements put forward by the former President Bhandari are to be decoded, her intent seems to be in favour of the communist unity, Prasai said. “While the UML and Maoist Centre chairs seem reluctant on the party unity immediately, the former President seems to favour it,” he said.