page_title: Pushpa Kamal Dahal
section_title: Relationship with Baburam Bhattarai
hierarchical_section_title: Pushpa Kamal Dahal / Maoist insurrection / Relationship with Baburam Bhattarai
caption_attribution_description: English: leaders of CPN maoist of Nepal.
context_page_description: Pushpa Kamal Dahal, commonly known by his nom de guerre Prachanda, is a Nepalese politician, Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party and twice Prime Minister of Nepal, from 2008 to 2009 and from 2016 to 2017.
  Dahal was leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) during the country's civil war and subsequent peace process which dissolved the monarchy and created a republic. In the 2008 elections CPN emerged as the largest party, with Dahal becoming Prime Minister in August of that year. He resigned as Prime Minister on 4 May 2009 after his attempt to dismiss the army chief, General Rookmangud Katawal, was opposed by President Ram Baran Yadav.
  Dahal is also widely known by his nom de guerre "Prachanda". In Nepali and other Indo-Aryan languages, the word Prachanda is an adjective that translates as "fierce".
context_section_description: In late 2004 or early 2005, relations between Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai soured. This was reportedly due to disagreement on power-sharing inside the party. Bhattarai was unhappy with the consolidation of power under Prachanda. At one point, Prachanda expelled Bhattarai from the party, though he was later reinstated. They later reconciled at least some of their differences.
  After the king's direct action over the government on 1 February 2005, the CPN (Maoist) met in serious discussions over the future policy of the party. Until then, Comrade Prachanda, Comrade Kiran, and others were convinced that they would be able to rise to power just by having a dialogue with the king's government. Senior leader Bhattarai had rejected this idea of the party, ever since it came under discussion in the party. He insisted on joining with other 'mainstream' parties. He proposed working with other parties to abolish the monarchy and stressed that it was high time to work with other parties to establish a republic. He stated that the party should move ahead with a strategy of a democratic republic and a multi-party system for the time being, as the other parties would not accept a people's republic immediately. The majority of the other senior leaders had rejected his opinion from the beginning, including chairman Prachanda, and had made a decision to work together with the king.
  Bhattarai and his supporters were punished and suspended for putting a view contrary to the party decision. But after the King's proclamation on 1 February 2005, the party realized that the policy they were pursuing was wrong. Immediately Bhattarai was released from his punishment and in a meeting held at Chunbang (a village in Rolpa) the party discussed Bhattarai's ideas. Subsequently, the party came forward with a strategy of a democratic republic rather than a people's republic.
  Bhattarai's strategy has worked until now; it put forward the party as a major stakeholder in the nation's politics. Chairman Prachanda and Bhattarai seem to disagree with the strategy of the other senior leader—Mohan Vaidya alias Kiran. The two leaders agree to strengthen the newly established democratic republic, rather than implementing a people's republic immediately. They agree that the coming years will be a 'decade of economic revolution' that will change the country's economic profile. The relationship came to a crisis when Bhattarai was not given the second position in the government by Prachanda. But it seems settled after Bhattarai agreed to this decision by Prachanda.
  Recently the relation between the two Maoist leaders became public, when Prachanda blamed India for supporting Bhattarai as future prime minister, and for trying to use him to create a struggle inside the party. Bhattarai claimed that this issue was raised with the intention of spoiling his reputation among the masses. Now Prachanda seems closer to Kiran, another prominent Maoist leader. But the row ended when Prachanda clarified that it was just a tactical game played against India.
caption: Baburam Bhattarai and prachanda
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