KATHMANDU: Nepal's ruling Maoists began a national meeting on Friday to hammer out their political future, with leftist hardliners arguing for greater state control in all sectors.

The Maoists are now Nepal's largest party, after winning polls earlier this year, but ideological rifts have emerged between factions headed by Prime Minister Prachanda – whose nom-de-guerre means "the fierce one" – and senior ideologue Mohan Baidya.

The Maoists battled Nepal's security forces to a standstill over a decade of bloody civil war launched in 1996 to topple the monarchy and establish a communist state.

Since the peace deal that saw them place their fighters and weapons under United Nations monitoring, they have pushed through the end of the unpopular monarchy and embraced multi-party democracy.

But the transition from feared guerrillas to Nepal's strongest political force has been tainted by persistent opposition accusations of violence and intimidation.

Prachanda favours multi-party competition and working with the private sector, but the faction led by Baidya believes the Maoist revolution will not be over until there is state control in all sectors of society.

Around 1,000 senior Maoist cadre from across Nepal are taking part in the five-day assembly.

"We will hold vigorous discussions on this topic and we will reach a scientific conclusion that will chart a new course for Nepal and the party," said Maoist leader Sudan Kirati.

Despite the disagreements, any significant split in the party is unlikely, according to Nepal's Maoist peace and reconstruction minister Janardan Sharma.

"There are issues that will be decided by the national cadre meeting. Anyone expecting the party to split can dream on. It's not going to happen," Sharma told the English language weekly Nepali Times.


- AFP/so