Convener of the Naya Shakti Party Nepal Baburam Bhattarai has turned down the proposal of CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal for unification between the two forces.

“There is no possibility of unification with the Maoist Centre anytime soon,” Bhattarai said at a press meet organised to make public the decisions of the party’s recent central executive and federal council meetings.

A former deputy of Dahal, Bhattarai claimed that a merger between the Naya Shakti and the Maoist Centre was just a dream of the Maoist chief.

The recent extended secretariat meeting of the Maoist Centre had decided to invite former Maoist leaders Bhattarai, Mohan Baidya and Netra Bikram Chand for unification talks, claiming that jointly they could become a strong alternative force in the country.

However, the two parties have similar agendas and could forge a working alliance on common agendas, leaders say. Naya Shakti has appealed to like-minded forces to come together for a broader working alliance and electoral alliance to fight for a directly elected executive head and fully proportional electoral system.

The Maoist Centre has also decided to focus its fight on these issues. Bhattarai advocates a broader national movement to realise these agendas.

Meanwhile, Bhattarai claimed that the talks for unification with the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal had ended without substantive result as the Upendra Yadav-led party was “reluctant” to transform itself into a new force.

Negotiations between the two talks teams, which continued for four months, concluded abruptly on July 23. They were preparing to announce the merger on Sunday.

Bhattarai claimed that the SSF-N has “federal socialism” as its ideology but the Naya Shakti stands for “socialism”. There were differences on some ideological and political issues besides the party’s name and organisational issues.

After the Election Commission refused to provide the Naya Shakti a separate electoral symbol, the party went to the local polls with the SSF-N’s symbol, in an indication of future unification. Naya Shakti leaders, however, said they would continue with the electoral alliance.

Central executive committee dissolved

KATHMANDU: The Naya Shakti Party has dissolved its Central Executive Committee and elected Baburam Bhattarai as the convener of the party’s Federal Council.

Bhattarai has been entrusted with appointing a 99-member National Convention Organising Committee, for the party’s national convention to be held after the provincial and federal elections. Bhattarai has proposed restructuring the party announced last year.