- Has put on 15 kg, gels his hair, sports a Stalinesque moustache and loves his blazers
- Wears a Rado (worth Rs 2 lakh), is driven in a Pajero, loves designer shades
- Drinks two pegs of Scotch whisky every evening. Cannot resist fried chicken.
- Appointed his son to the party's regional bureau. His daughter too holds a key post.
- A borderline hypertension case, he suffers from a persecution complex.
***
Perhaps Prachanda has gained weight because his life in Kathmandu bears little resemblance to the 23 years he spent underground, shifting from one hideout to another under the cover of darkness. He, no doubt, still bustles around in the city, but it is now in an air-conditioned Pajero, escorted by a fleet of cars, reportedly comandeered from their owners. You could say the paraphernalia is required for security reasons. But then, as some Maoist leaders ask, of what purpose is the Rado watch (worth Rs 2 lakh) that he sports? Or, for that matter, the blazers and designer shades he wears, in sharp contrast to the threadbare dress of Maoist cadres?
Perhaps the Rado watch symbolises the dramatic change in the quality of time for Prachanda. He was always known to love his liquor, his indulgence at times embarrassing his comrades. Late Nirmal Lama, who was with Prachanda in a communist formation before the CPN-M was formed in 1995, once said in an interview, "I do drink sometimes but my comrades are known for excessive drinking." His remark was widely perceived as a jibe against Prachanda, who has now shifted from the local brew to two measured pegs of Johnny Walker (Red Label) every evening. And the 15 kg of weight he has gained is no less because he is a voracious eater who finds fried chicken simply irresistible.
Prachanda's new lifestyle is discussed intensely among party cadres. "Prachanda is now no different from other bourgeois leaders, we have all realised it," says a CPN-M district level leader. Another important Maoist leader, who has been given an important responsibility by the party at the national level, said, "The CPN-M won't be able to go back to the jungle as our leaders, including Prachanda, are glued to the life of comfort." A third leader added, "As far as lifestyle goes, Prachanda is no different from (prime minister) G.P. Koirala and (CPN-M-Marxist-Unionist leader) Madhav Nepal."
The bourgeois lifestyle of central leaders, including Prachanda, came for sharp attack at the party's plenum this August. The person who led the charge was Ram Bahadur Thapa aka Badal, who's currently perceived as Prachanda's rival. He said, "How will you motivate your cadres to work for you in the election when the disparity between how we live and how they live is so stark?" The applause at the plenum lasted a good few minutes.
There's also disquiet in the party about Prachanda's weakness for his family. Less than two years ago, he drafted his son, Prakash, as a member of the regional bureau, which is immediately below the central committee (CC) in the organisational structure. His induction prompted two CC members, Rabindra Shrestha and Mani Thapa, to quit the party in protest. Mani Thapa told Outlook, "Not only did Prachanda promote his son Prakash to the rank of a regional bureau member superceding many, he also placed his daughter and some close relatives in key positions." Then last year, Prachanda had to countenace the wrath of party cadres who were livid at the presence of his father, Muktinath Dahal, 80, on the dais at a party function. Revolutionaries are not supposed to commit the 'sin' of acting on familial loyalties.
True, spiffy vehicles, smart clothes and expensive Scotch are normal for leaders belonging to mainstream parties. But then the CPN-M isn't another bourgeios party; it talked of a socio-economic revolution. Isn't Prachanda's lifestyle at variance with the party's ideology? No, argues Maheshwar Dahal, a former CC member and currently chairman of the Maoist-affiliated Revolutionary Journalists Organisation. He explains, "People are simply trying to project him in bad light by talking about his lifestyle. This is what bourgeois society does to rebels." Dahal says Prachanda may not be adhering to the lifestyle party cadres consider appropriate, but nobody believes it is because of his hypocritical reluctance to bridge the proverbial chasm between word and action.
C.P. Gajurel, who heads the party's international department, asks, "Do you expect us to move around in hawai chappals when we meet leaders and representatives from different countries or travel abroad?" Gajurel then answers, "We are definitely for simple living and raising the overall living standard of the people. The change in us at present is the outcome of changed political circumstances, something that just happened without our wanting it."
But not all changes in Prachanda are disappointing to the cadres. A borderline hypertension case, he has quit smoking on doctor's advice. Earlier, he used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day; his favourite brand—the locally manufactured Yak, though he wasn't averse to lighting up the occasional 555.
Yet years of hard living underground have also had a tragic impact on his personality. A reputed, Left-leaning doctor in Kathmandu, who has treated Maoist leaders in the past, feels Prachanda and some of his comrades exhibit symptoms of psychosomatic disorder as they occasionally express fear of being persecuted. "It's only natural for Maoist leaders, who have been responsible for the killing of so many, to suffer from the fear—real or imaginary—of being attacked," he says.
Reality appears to have smudged the myth of Prachanda, invested, over the years, with much romance. When he was in the bush, even those opposed to his bloody methods admired him for his sacrifices: here was the man who had abandoned the possibility of boasting a flourishing career—he studied agriculture science and worked briefly on a project funded by the US Agency of International Development (USAID)—to fight for the impoverished masses. Prachanda in mainstream politics seems to have betrayed that myth.
