Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) officially registers its name, gets red rose as election symbol

Kathmandu, Nov 18 (PTI) A faction of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which led the decade-long armed insurgency in Nepal, officially registered its name at the Election Commission and got a red rose as its election symbol on Tuesday.

Former Maoist guerrilla leader Bikram Chand “Biplav” steered the faction of the party underground for more than a decade after the supremo of the Maoist Party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda", joined mainstream politics by signing a Comprehensive Peace Accord in 2006.

The Biplav-led faction joined mainstream politics in 2020 after signing a peace deal with the government.

Talking to journalists at the Election Commission premises after registering his party, Biplav, holding a rose, said, his party is “now ready to participate in the upcoming general election scheduled for March 5.” He added that his party supports the agenda of Gen Z youths, who launched protests against corruption, political disorder and nepotism.

While then Maoist supremo Prachanda formed a new party named the Nepali Communist Party by merging nearly a dozen smaller organisations and abandoned the name “Maoist”, his erstwhile colleague Biplav formed a separate political organisation carrying the original name CPN-Maoist.

The Election Commission has asked political parties to register their names from November 17 to contest the upcoming general elections on March 5.

A total of twelve political parties, including the newly-formed Nepali Communist Party, registered their name at the Election Commission on Monday.

Political parties willing to participate in the upcoming general election are required to register their name at the Election Commission by November 26.

The elections have been necessitated following the ouster of prime minister K P Sharma Oli on September 9 after demonstrations by Gen Z protesting corruption and demanding lifting of a ban on social media turned violent leading to the death of 76 people in two days.

Sushila Karki took oath on September 12 as prime minister of an interim government. PTI SBP SKS GSP