| paramendra |
Posted
on 22-Apr-03 02:22 PM
The party split.
At 68, Anandi Devi starts political career as party chief
By Yuvraj Acharya
KATHMANDU, April 21 : It was all too new - she had never attended a political meeting. Bemused, she endured the lengthy three-day national convention of a political partythankfully, without having to utter a single word in public. Yet, as the convention concluded, she had a political party after her name - Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandi Devi).
Within a few days, she was rubbing shoulders with political heavyweights in Kathmandu. "I was so happy to talk to Girija Prasad Koirala and other leaders," she said.
Anandi Devi, 68, widow of the late Gajendra Narayan Singh, founding president of Nepal Sadbhavana Party, had never thought that she would be involved with politics. It was due to inter-party wrangling, that a dissident group in Nepal Sadbhavana Party challenging the Deputy Prime Minister Badri Prasad Mandals leadership, proposed Anandi Devi as a compromise candidate to head the party. Mandal flatly rejected the idea precipitating a vertical split in the party; and Anandi Devi became president of the breakaway faction. "I came to politics out of compulsion," she says.
Born to an upper middle-class family in the Indian State of Bihar, Anandi Devi was married to Gajendra Narayan Singh in 1945 at the age of ten. Illiterate, Singh can speak only her native language Maithili.
The marital life, however, wasnt a happy one from the beginning and soured further after the death of their two-and-half year-old son.
"The couple hardly spoke to each other after their son passed away," informed a close family friend wishing to remain unnamed.
"The unexpected death of their only son frustrated Gajendra Narayan and turned him away from family life," says Bhubaneswor Yadav, NSP district level leader and close confidante of late Singh.
She was unwilling to talk about her relationship with her late husband but said, "It had nothing to do with the death of our son, it was just that we had very little to say to each other".
While Gajendra Narayan became minister a number of times and mostly stayed in Kathmandu, Anandi Devi lived a secluded life in Rajbiraj, Saptari engrossed in worship and family affairs - never bothered about politics.
"During my twenty-year association with the family, I never found her making any political conversation," said Yadav.
This time, too, it wasnt her personal interest that brought her into politics. In her persona, the dissident faction of the NSP found a figure that could withstand the shrewd maneuverings of Deputy Prime Minister Mandal. Moreover, she was dragged into politics partly because none of the three heavyweights - Hridayesh Tripathi, Bharat Bimal Yadhav and Rajendra Mahato - in the breakaway NSP could accept either of the other two as the party president, say party insiders.
"She was only viable option to give continuity to the spirit of the NSP movement," said Khusi Lal Mandal, party central leader.
She justifies her entry into politics during the twilight of her life. "It is for the sake of party unity and for the continuity of the Madhesi movement that I joined politics," she told The Kathmandu Post.
She might be a novice in politics, but she is confident that she can lead the NSP. "When Rabri Devi [Chief Minister in Bihar, India] can become an active politician, why cant I head the NSP?" she reasons.
She, indeed, held political discussions with Maoist leaders Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Matrika Yadav recently. "I told them in Maithili that all my efforts would be for democracy and social justice," she said.
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishweekly/spotlight/2003/apr/apr04/offtherecord.htm
Rifts On The Right
While leftist groups are uniting to challenge mainstream parties, those on the right are breaking up. After the rupture of the Nepali Congress and resurgence of differences in Rastriya Prajatantara Party, it was Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP)'s turn to split. Formed by late Gajendra Narayan Singh, the NSP has a long history of cleavages. It was split in the early days when one of its founder members, Ramchandra Tiwari, opened his NSP(R). Last time, a group led by Hridayesh Tripathy broke away to form Nepal Samajbadi Party with Rameswor Raya as president. This time Badri Prasad Mandal, a newcomer in the party, kicked out his opponents, while Singh's widow formed another party NSP(R). It seems to be a tradition in Nepalese politics for minority factions to form separate parties as soon as soon as they feel deprived of a proper share. This is democracy where every individual has right to express his or her dissent in different ways.
"I am the widow of late Gajendra Naryan Singh who founded the party sacrificing almost all his lifetime. So, the party leaders have to obey what I say. This is the party of my husband. If [Badri Prasad] Mandal can correct his mistakes, party unity is possible,"
Anandi Devi Singh, president of breakaway faction of Nepal Sadbhavana Party, on her role in uniting the party with the rival faction led by the deputy prime minister, in Nepal Samacharpatra.
Mandal's Mirth
Deputy Prime Minister and leader of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) Badri Prasad Mandal is perhaps the happiest man in politics today. Despite his late entry into the NSP, Mandal was appointed as heir of the late Gajendra Narayan Singh. After completing the NSP convention successfully, Mandal smartly forced out five clever and dedicated leader, who formed a breakaway faction. Mandal knew he wouldn't have been able to control the party as long as smart and educated personalities like Hridayesh Tripathy, Rajendra Mahato, Bharat Bimal Yadav and Sarita Giri were around. The deputy premier used Singh's widow to evict his rivals from the party. Mandal knows the techniques that will ultimately make him the sole leader of the NSP.
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