Founding (1994–1996) The party was formed in 1994 following a split in the
Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) into two factions, one led by
Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the other led Nirmal Lama. The electoral front of the party, the
United People's Front of Nepal, also split and the faction led by
Baburam Bhattarai allied with the
Pushpa Kamal Dahal led Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre). The two
United People's Front of Nepal decided to register itself with the
Election Commission, but the commission only recognized the Nirmal Lama backed party.
Baburam Bhattarai responded by calling for a boycott of the
1994 mid-term elections.
Preparations for struggle (1995–1996) The Unity Centre, led by
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, went completely underground after the split to begin preparations for its next phase of struggle. The party held its Third
Plenum in March 1995, where the party renamed itself to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). It also decided that for "the true liberation of the people, all efforts must be concentrated for the development of a people's war that would usher in the new people's democratic form of government" and officially decided to give up its policy of taking part in parliamentary elections. In the light of this action, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the party met briefly in January 1996 and made the final decision on the historic initiation of the '
People's War' for 13 February 1996.
People's war (1996–2001) On 13 February 1996, after Prime Minister
Sher Bahadur Deuba had left for a state visit to India two days before, the office of the Small Farmer's Development Programme run by the Agricultural Development Bank was overrun in
Gorkha district and the loan papers were destroyed. This was followed in the evening by attacks on police posts in
Aathbiskot-Rari in
Rukum, Holeri in
Rolpa and
Sindhuligadhi in
Sindhuli. The '
People's War' was formally launched. After the
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) came into government in 1997,
violence between both sides stopped but the issue could not be resolved. The government formed a taskforce to look into the 'Maoist Activities and a Search for Solutions' in April 1997 under
CPN (UML) MP Prem Singh Dhami but the commission report was ultimately shelved in August of the same year. A local election was called in May 1997, but polls could not be held in 87
village development committees due to intimidation by the Maoists. The government in response attempted to introduce the Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Control and Punishment) Act in July 1997 at the initiative of deputy prime minister and home minister
Bam Dev Gautam. The act would give the police wide-ranging powers against perceived '
terrorists'. But the government was forced to backtrack on the law before it was placed in front of the parliament owing to mass protests from the civil society, the media, and international organizations. Following this an 'Armed Nepal Bandh' was announced for 6 April 2000 and attacks on the police resumed. In late September, the Maoists overran
Dunai, the district headquarters of
Dolpa. Following this attack the Royal Nepal Army was mobilized for security duty in 16 districts. The army could not be brought to the fight against the Maoists however due to disagreements between the
Prime Minister and the
King of Nepal, the supreme commander of the Royal Nepal Army. Later that month, they attacked a police post in Rolpa and took 69 policemen hostage. The
Koirala government immediately mobilized the army but when the soldiers failed to engage with the Maoists, Koirala resigned as
Prime Minister.
Sher Bahadur Deuba followed him as prime minister and immediately announced a ceasefire, which was reciprocated by the Maoist side with a ceasefire of their own.
People's Liberation Army (2001–2002) In mid-August 2001, a meeting between the mainstream
communist parties and the CPN-Maoist was arranged by the
Communist Party of Nepal (Masal) near
Siliguri, but nothing significant emerged from this meeting since Prachanda's request for support on the Maoist call for a
republic was turned down. The first official meeting between the government and the Maoists were held on August 30, 2001, led by deputy prime minister Chiranjibi Wagle and
Krishna Bahadur Mahara from the Maoist side. Nothing substantial happened during this meeting except for mutual commitment to hold talks again. Two weeks later, the second was held in western Nepal and the Maoists placed a full range of demand on the table. These demands were of three categories. The first was calls for a
constituent assembly, an interim government and a republic. The second dealt with treaties with India and policies regarding India. The third was going public with details of arrested Maoists and a rollback of police operations. In September 2001, the 'people's army' was restructured into the '
People's Liberation Army' and was under the supreme command of
Prachanda. The PLA consisted of the bulk of the Maoist
guerrilla fighting force, which was estimated anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 strong. The Maoists also had a
militia, who were assigned guard duty in Maoist-controlled
village development committees. The Maoists ended the four month-long ceasefire on 23 November 2001 by attacking government and private installations throughout the country after a statement two days earlier by
Prachanda which signaled that talks were about to break down. The Maoists also attacked army barracks for the first time. The Maoists attacked
Ghorahi in
Dang and briefly took control of the district headquarters. They killed more than two dozen police and army personnel, blew up government offices, freed prisoners from the local jail and stole
NPR 64.8 million worth of gold and silver from local banks. This coincided with attacks all over the country the most serious of which was in
Syangja where 14 policemen were killed. This was followed two days later by an attack on the headquarters and army barracks in
Solukhumbu District. The attack on the headquarters was unsuccessful but they made out with a substantial amount of ammunition and sophisticated weapons from their attack on the army barracks. The party also announced the formation of a 37-member United Revolutionary People's Council of Nepal and was headed by Baburam Bhattarai. After failure to increase the time period for the state of emergency, King Gyanendra on the recommendation of the prime minister dissolved the parliament in May 2002 and buoyed by the success against the Maoist insurgents, decided to call for elections in November of the same year. But following a surprise attack in
Sandhikharka in
Arghakhanchi District which killed 65 security personnel, the prime minister asked for more time to conduct the polls. The king promptly removed Deuba in October 2002 for his 'incompetence' and assumed the country's executive authority.
King's direct rule (2002–2006) ,
Mohan Baidya (Kiran),
Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda),
Baburam Bhattarai (Laaldhwoj),
Chandra Prakash Gajurel (Gaurav) On 26 January 2003, the Maoists killed the Inspector General of the
Armed Police Force,
Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and a bodyguard during a morning walk. After the government decided to retract the terrorist label, bounties and a red corner notice against the Maoists, another ceasefire was announced on 29 January 2003. The peace talks between the government and the Maoists resumed on 27 April 2003, led by deputy prime minister Badri Prasad Mandal and Baburam Bhattarai from the Maoists. Another round of talks were held on 10 May 2003, following which the government decided to restrict army movement to five kilometres from their barracks, forming a code of conduct during the ceasefire and releasing some top Maoist leaders. After the government released key members of the Maoist party the third round of talks finally began on 17 August 2003. The ceasefire was broken on 27 August 2003 by Prachanda, after the two groups could not agree on the formation of a constituent assembly. , 2005 Although there were intermittent
ceasefires, fighting was roughly continuous through 2005. In 2005, the CPN (Maoist) sought a different strategy of seeking permanent peace accords while forming a pro-democratic alliance with several other mainstream political parties in opposition to the
monarchical dictatorship of
King Gyanendra. Following massive popular uprisings and protests (some involving over a million people), a prolonged
general strike in 2006, and several violent clashes between protesters and the Nepalese Army, the monarchy finally capitulated.
Comprehensive Peace Accord (2006–2008) After waging
the Civil War for 10 years, the CPN (Maoist) sat down for peace talks after the success of the People's Movement in 2002/03. The
Twelve-Point Agreement reached between the then
seven-party alliance and the Maoist rebels in
Delhi created a path for peaceful agitation against the direct rule of the king and to end autocracy in Nepal. The civil war conducted by the CPN (Maoist) created the foundation for the establishment of a republic in Nepal. It also created political consciousness among the people at the grassroots level and, to some extent, awareness of the need for national socio-economic transformation. After the declaration of the king to reinstate the
parliament, the CPN (Maoist) insisted that the declaration was a betrayal to the people. Instead the king should bring down his institution for his deeds. But there was no hearing from the other parties in the alliance. Maoist chairman Prachanda appeared at the prime minister's residence,
Baluwatar for the peace talk and said that he was there to establish a new kind of democracy in Nepal, although he did not reveal details. After the peace talks held between the CPN (Maoist) and the Government of Nepal, the Maoist rebels were ready to put an end to the 10-year-long Civil War. Signing the
Comprehensive Peace Accord, Maoist chairman Prachanda said that the Civil War had come to an end and a new revolution was to be waged by the reinstated parliament. The peace accord was signed on September 21, 2006, ending the Maoist revolution. However, Prachanda was able to provide legacy to the 19,000-member People's Liberation Army that was kept in the cantonment under the supervision of the
United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN). The interim constitution of Nepal 2063, gave a constitutional position to these Maoist
cadres. There was a provision for providing monthly allowance for the Maoist armies staying at the
cantonment. The Maoist leaders believe that the revolution has not ended here but only the form of struggle was changed.
First Constituent Assembly (2008–2012) In the
2008 Constituent Assembly elections, the CPN (Maoist) won 220 seats and an additional 9 members were nominated from the party giving them a strength of 229 seats and making them the largest party in the
1st Constituent Assembly. Despite accusations of fraud from older parties like the Nepali Congress and
CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist), international observers reported that the elections were held in a peaceful, orderly manner and were satisfying. The Maoists did not have a majority to form the government and had to form a coalition with
CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and
Madheshi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal. Chairman of the party
Pushpa Kamal Dahal was elected prime minister after getting 464 out of 577 votes against Nepali Congress candidate
Sher Bahadur Deuba. As the first proposal of the first meeting of this Constituent Assembly received full support, it was declared that the monarchy of Nepal has ended forever and the monarchy that has been in power for 240 years has been formally ended and Nepal has become a federal democratic republic. On 13 January 2009 the party merged with the
CPN (Unity Centre–Masal) to form the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The election front of CPN (Unity Centre–Masal),
Janamorcha Nepal also merged into the party and with its 8 seats took the Maoists' total strength to 237 in the Constituent Assembly. The Maoist government fell after its coalition partners withdrew support from the government after Dahal tried to sack the army chief,
Rookmangud Katuwal. President Ram Baran Yadav rejected Dahal's proposal to sack the army chief and he resigned on 4 May 2009. After the Maoist government fell, a faction under
Matrika Prasad Yadav split from the party and reformed the former CPN (Maoist).
Matrika Prasad Yadav and Jagat Prasad Yadav also resigned from the Constituent Assembly and were replaced from among the party list. In February 2011 the Maoists formed a coalition with the
CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and formed a government under UML's
Jhala Nath Khanal. The government could not agree a deal to complete the integration of former Maoist combatants and Khanal resigned on 15 August 2011 to pave the way for a formation of a national consensus government. Almost two weeks later,
Baburam Bhattarai was elected prime minister defeating
Ram Chandra Paudel from the
Nepali Congress 340–235. The government under Bhattarai was able to get finalize a deal to integrate the former Maoist guerrillas and a deal was signed with all major parties on 1 November 2011. However, hardliners inside the party like party vice-chairman
Mohan Baidya were unsatisfied with the decision. The government however failed to agree a consensus on the drafting of the new constitution and on 28 May 2012,
Baburam Bhattarai requested President
Ram Baran Yadav to dissolve the
Constituent Assembly and call for fresh elections. On 18 June 2012, party vice-chairman Mohan Baidya split the party and formed the
Communist Party of Nepal–Maoist. He accused the party of being filled with opportunists and the leadership of destroying the achievements of the
People's War. He also termed accepting the line of "
democratic republic" in 2005 and signing the
Comprehensive Peace Accord in 2006 as major mistakes by the Maoist leadership. Baburam Bhattrai resigned as prime minister and on 14 March 2013,
Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was appointed as an interim prime minister to hold the elections.
Second Constituent Assembly (2013–2015) In the
2013 Constituent Assembly election, held on 19 November 2013, the UCPN (Maoist) won just 80 seats and an additional 3 seats were nominated from the party to the
2nd Constituent Assembly compared to 237 in the
1st Constituent Assembly. The result meant that the Maoists were dropped to be the third largest party in the Constituent Assembly from first in past. The party rejected the results and blamed it on an "international and national" conspiracy and warned that the party would sit out of the newly elected Constituent Assembly. The party later agreed to join the new constituent assembly and
Onsari Gharti Magar from the party was elected as the vice-chairman of the Constituent Assembly on 26 February 2014.
Nepali Congress president
Sushil Koirala became the new prime minister of Nepal but the Maoists did not join his government. The new Constituent Assembly was finally able to deliver a constitution and on 17 September 2015, the
Constitution of Nepal, 2015 was approved by 507 members.
Baburam Bhattarai resigned from the newly formed
Legislature Parliament of Nepal and the party following the announcement of the constitution and formed
Naya Shakti Party, Nepal.
Federal Republic and dissolution (2016–2018) Pushpa Kamal Dahal became prime minister for the second time on 3 August 2016, before resigning on 25 May 2017 to make way for
Sher Bahadur Deuba to become prime minister as per an agreement with Nepali Congress. On 19 May 2016, 10 Maoist parties including pro-unity factions from the
Communist Party of Nepal (Revolutionary Maoist) and
Communist Party of Nepal and the
Matrika Prasad Yadav-led Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) merged with the party. The party renamed itself to Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) following the merger. In the
2017 local elections, the party won 5,411 seats including 106 mayor and chair positions of 753 becoming third largest. The party won the mayoral post in only one metropolitan city,
Bharatpur with the support of
Nepali Congress and
Renu Dahal (daughter of
Puspa Kamal Dahal) became mayor. The party announced an alliance with the
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) before the start of the
2017 legislative and
provincial elections but did not quit the government led by
Sher Bahadur Deuba. The party won 53 seats and again emerged as the third largest party in the
House of Representatives. The party also won 108 seats to
provincial assemblies and formed
coalition governments with the
CPN (UML) in
six out of the seven provinces. According to the power sharing agreement, Maoist Centre would lead the government in
Karnali and
Sudurpashchim. The party also formed a coalition government with the
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) to lead the federal government. In the
National Assembly elections on 6 February 2018, the party won 12 of the 56 elected seats.
Nanda Bahadur Pun was also re-elected
as vice-president of Nepal on 19 March 2018. On 17 May 2018, the Party Unification Coordination Committee decided to dissolve both coalition parties in order to create a merger party, the
Nepal Communist Party. == Ideology ==