Hours after Nepal’s King Gyanendra made his peace offer to the seven-party alliance, a top Maoist leader spoke to a key Left interlocutor from India to coordinate on the next move ahead.

The brief talks between the Maoist leader and the CPM’s Sitaram Yechury took place against the backdrop of the Left’s unhappiness over the government’s efforts to save the king, who seemed to be driving a wedge between Nepal’s recognised parties and the Maoists.

The CPM which, along with other Indian parties, has played an important role in supporting the democracy movement in Nepal, feels keeping the Maoists out of the political mainstream will be disastrous. Instead, the party feels, India should recognise this because advocating a role for the Maoists in Nepal would reap benefits at home.

‘‘Drawing the Maoists into the democratic mainstream is the biggest advantage that India will have in tackling its own internal Maoist problem, and we shouldn’t isolate them,’’ Yechury told The Indian Express. The CPM leader, who opened communication links with the Nepalese leaders soon after the king’s address, was batting for the inclusion of the Maoists in all future political discussions.

‘‘Keeping the Maoists out of the frame will make Nepal ungovernable,” Yechury said.

The Maoists have been in touch with leaders of India’s all-party Nepal Democracy Solidarity Committee which includes the Left. Maoist leader Prachanda spoke to D.P. Tripathy, the committee’s secretary, on Thursday evening. On April 17, Jhala Nath Khanal and Bam Dev Gautam of the CPN(UML), S. Acharya of the Nepali Congress and Lakshman Pant of the Janadhikar Sangh, a Maoist mass organisation, had met Tripathy and discussed possible political options.

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