‘There is no reason to panic’

Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) chief ideologue Baburam Bhattarai, 53, won a seat to the Constituent Assembly from Gorkha, defeating his nearest rival by a massive margin of over 40,000 votes. After the polls, he spoke to Binod Bhattarai on the main challenges ahead, especially with regard to the economy. Binod Bhattarai: How do you explain your party's sweep of the polls?

Baburam Bhattarai: This is no ordinary parliamentary election. This is an election to a Constituent Assembly, which will institutionalise a democratic republic after the abolition of feudalism and monarchy. Our party fought relentlessly and consistently against feudalism and monarchy, and waged 10 years of armed struggle, then a 19-day people's movement [in April 2006]. The people acknowledged our contribution to this change. That's why the people wanted to give us the opportunity to implement the political agenda we had articulated – the Constituent Assembly, republicanism, federal restructuring of the state and socio-economic transformation. This is the political agenda put forward by us, and the Nepali people wanted to give us the responsibility to implement this. How will you ensure that your party will not be like other communist parties – for example, the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML), which is accused of compromising ideology while trying to balance present-day realities?

We are in a different context. The UML participated in the old state structure, which was a monarchical set up with a different state, economic and social system. In our case, we are participating in a new state system, which will be democratic, republican and federal. Our challenges are different from those faced by the UML and others. Today, when even China has realised that economic policies are vital to usher in socialism, how will you balance your economic ideals with the realities of policies pursued by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund?

Every country has to follow its own policy to suit concrete conditions. In our case, we are doing away with feudalism and monarchy, and our main political and economic agenda is to build a republican, democratic set-up and a developing industrial economy. In that sense, our immediate agenda is not socialism but to build a strong economic foundation which will pave the way for the transition to socialism. Our immediate agenda is to develop industrial capitalism in order to abolish all remnants of feudalism. What are the main challenges of the new government?

One will be on the political front. The defeated reactionary forces may try to create trouble and political instability. So we have to guard against that, mobilise the masses and constantly be vigilant against such disruptive activities. Second will be the high expectations of the masses for rapid economic development. We want rapid socio-economic transformation, so the challenge will be quite strong. But given the support of the masses and the people, and the goodwill of the international community, I think we can face that. Do you have anything to say to people who are worried now that there has been a Maoist victory?

There is no reason to panic, because we have put forward our political and economic agenda in our manifesto. Our main intention right now is to abolish all remnants of feudalism, and to build the way towards a developed, industrial, capitalistic economy in the country. That means there will be full scope for the private sector, and nothing will be nationalised or socialised. Right now, the private sector will play a very important role, and the government will play only a facilitative role to create a conducive environment for investment. In that sense, there is no reason to panic. We will welcome all investors, national and international, for the economic development of the country. We are already in contact with some of the major stakeholders. How do you plan to address atrocities committed on both sides during the 10 years of conflict?

We have already agreed that we will have a commission for peace and national reconciliation. First we will constitute the commission, and then implement its recommendations on the basis of political consensus. What reactions do you expect from the international community to the momentous events in Nepal?

We expect that we will have very normal relations with all countries, because we have gone through a democratic process and have gotten the people's mandate. Since these governments have said that they would stand by democratic principles, there should be no reason why we cannot have good working relations with them. I would like to appeal to the international community – especially the US, the European Union, the UN, and our immediate neighbours India and China – [to say] that Maoists coming to power in Nepal will build the way for good diplomatic relations with all the countries concerned. In the days to come, we look forward to have good working relations with all of them.