“All will be lost if we are defeated. Do whatever’s required to win.”
UCPN-Maoist Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal (‘Prachanda’) at close-door election cadre meeting at his Kirtipur (Kathmandu Valley) constituency on 15 November.
We are once again in battle, comrades. And it’s a situation where we have to win it. At the party’s Central Committee meeting I had made this point strongly, and the extended plenum stood up united to insist that we have no choice but to win. Our loss would mean a great accident for everyone. Meanwhile, everything will be lost. We must win at any cost. We are still at war, comrades. We must win this Constituent Assembly election battle, we do not have the option to lose. All will be lost if we are defeated. This is not the time to talk of this candidate or that candidate, leave that for now. Our candidates have to win, we have to support them to be victorious. It will be disaster if we do not win, and that is why we must put everything aside till 19 November – I repeat, put everything aside – and concentrate on winning. We must do whatever is required to win – using flattery, bribery, aggression, polarisation. Beware, especially you comrades in leadership positions… You see, it will not be good if we get less (votes) in constituency number ten (Kirtipur). The message to the reactionaries within the country and among foreigners will be that the party’s popularity is definitely on the wane, the party leaders’ popularity is declining. If we lose votes in this constituency where we ran earlier…