Kathmandu, April 2:

Maoist chairman Prachanda said today that his party would accept whatever

verdict the people may give through the April 10 Constituent Assembly election.

“We are still suspected that we will not accept the election results. But we have been saying that we will accept the people’s verdict,” Prachanda, who is contesting the first-past-the-post election from Kathmandu-10 and Rolpa-2, said. He said this while addressing a Valley-level election rally of his party at Sahid Manch.

“But it does not mean that all kinds of rigging in the polls and conspiracies against the polls are acceptable to us,” he said, adding that they would capture the Narayanhiti Palace if the “people’s desire of forward-looking change was betrayed”.

He also asked the media community to use its conscience in favour of the agenda of

radical change which would be possible only if the Maoists win.

Refuting allegations that YCL was indulged in beating, threats and intimidation and its preventing access to other parties, Prachanda said, “Had there not been the YCL, reactionary forces would have killed me in a rally in Siraha and the entire peace process and election would have collapsed. But the media, parties and international community did not take this incident seriously,” he said, adding: “But we have instructed YCL to have patience and act like Gandhi till the election.”

He also accused the foreign forces of conspiring to prevent the Maoists from winning the election. “I have received credible information that the superpower would take it as

its own defeat if the NC and UML lost to us,” he said.

Prachanda also expressed doubts over neutrality of international election observers. “They are here to prevent the Maoists from getting elected,” he said.

“I have heard they would give their thumps up if the Maoists are defeated, otherwise they would say the election was not fair,” he said, adding: “We do not need such thug observers who are biased against us.”

He also asked the US administration not to meddle with Nepal’s internal politics.

Addressing the function, senior Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who is contesting CA polls from Gorkha-2, claimed that the old-faced politicians who were indulged in corruption would not write a new constitution with republican order.

He said they were contesting the election to safeguard nationalism, declare the

county a republic and ensure federal structure of the governance with the right to self-determination — of the communities and region.

He said his party had proposed presidential rule so that there would be no room for any kind of monarchy.

Meanwhile, Dr Bishnu Hari Nepal, who was appointed ambassador to Japan during CPN-UML’s nine-month minority government in 1995, joined the Maoist fold. Prachanda welcomed him to the CPN (Maoist).