Today's Newspapers ' baishakh 31
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The career of former Nepalese Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal - better known as Prachanda (Fierce One) - has been characterised by his ceaseless battle to turn his country into a socialist-communist people's republic.
It was for this ideal that he fought a bloody 10-year war against the monarchy, going on to serve a brief stint as prime minister from 2008 to 2009 before a disagreement with the military - over his attempt to sack the chief of the army - brought his period in office to an early end.
Up until his fall as prime minister, Prachanda's career trajectory was mostly in the ascendant. But most critics agree that he has struggled to make the transition from rebel leader to conventional politician.
Evidence of these difficulties were clearly seen in November 2013 when a stunned Prachanda threatened to boycott parliament if vote-counting in "rigged" elections was not immediately halted.
Opulent lifestyles
Critics say that the former rebel leader had not realised the extent of his party's unpopularity since its dramatic election win in 2008 and was taken by surprise that the Maoists appeared to have been relegated to third place
Further evidence of his difficulties in dealing with the cut-and-thrust of daily politics was seen in 2012, when he came under criticism for his decision to live in a new mansion with a monthly rent of 103,000 rupees ($1,312/£832) in the heart of Kathmandu.
It was not the first time that the Maoist leader and some of his top supporters were accused of abandoning their proletarian principles by embracing opulent lifestyles - in some cases complete with palatial residences, luxury cars and private medical facilities.
Resentment over this and other issues led to a hardline faction within the Maoist party breaking away to form a separate party in 2012.
The leader of the new grouping said the split happened because the party's leadership had "annihilated the achievements" of the 10-year civil war which ended in 2006.
Prachanda, who will be 60 in 2014, is a former agriculture student and school teacher, who was born in the Annapurna region of Nepal.
His natural gift for military leadership enabled him to transform the Maoists from being a poorly armed rag-tag outfit into one of South Asia's most feared rebel groups.
More than 13,000 people died in the civil war in the impoverished Himalayan nation, which culminated in the king relinquishing his absolute powers and being forced to give up his throne in June 2008.
Up until then, very little was known about Prachanda. Nepalis knew him from only a couple of photographs. He was rarely seen in public and was constantly slipping between India and Nepal to escape the authorities.
तल को बक्समा क्लिक गर्नुहोस
Today's Newspapers ' baishakh 31
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