Prachanda wins a huge majority at the Constituent Assembly vote

By Prerana Marasini and agencies

Source: "The Hindu"

KATHMANDU: Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), was elected the first Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal on Friday by a huge majority of 464 votes. In the election at the Constituent Assembly, Mr. Dahal’s only rival, Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress got only 113 votes.

The major two parties, CPN (UML) and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) on Thursday had reached an agreement to support Mr. Prachanda’s candidacy, which was later backed by other small parties.

The result of the Prime Ministerial election was announced by the Constituent Assembly (CA) Chairman Subash Nembang. “The proposal in favour of Pushpa Kamal Dahal [Prachanda] as the Prime Minister was supported by 464 votes,” Mr. Nembang said, “So, I announce his win as the Prime Minister.”

Fifty-four-year-old Prachanda was born to a farmer’s family in Pokhara. He got his primary education in his home town. He then went to the Kathmandu Valley for higher studies and did his ISc at the Patan Multiple Campus. Later, he graduated in agriculture from the Rampur Agriculture Campus in 1976.

Mr. Dahal’s daughter Renu Dahal is also a Constituent Assembly member.

Mr. Dahal’s close associate Baburam Bhattarai says Mr. Dahal chose the name Prachanda, ‘as it does not reflect any caste or religion.’ Mr. Prachanda himself once said that his name Pushpa Kamal Dahal clearly indicated he was a Brahmin.

Mr. Prachanda joined the Communist Revolution in 1971. With some communist friends, he also established a Marxism-learning group in 1974. In 1995, he became the General Secretary of the Maoists, and in 2000, became the Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

25 years underground

He lived an underground life for 25 years, from 1980 to 2005. The Maoists were termed ‘terrorists’ by the then Deuba government. Interestingly, it was during the Deuba reign that the government first held talks with the Maoists.

The Maoists waged for over a decade an armed struggle, which claimed nearly 14000 lives, but three years ago, when Girija Prasad Koirala was the prime minister, they ended their war and signed a Comprehensive Peace Accord. They, then, participated in the People’s Revolution, the success of which abolished the 240-year-old monarchy and established the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

Mr. Prachanda has said his duty is to write a constitution and end the peace process logically.

The CA, the legislature of Nepal, started the two-round voting at around 18:10 local time (1225 GMT).