London. Singapore. Hong Kong. Now, Kuala Lumpur. Prachanda’s rendezvous, according to a Maoist politburo member, with Indian intelligence operatives at distant locations never seem to end.

Accompanied by the fellow leader of theMaharagate fame, the Maoist supremo was ostensibly on a tour for “party work.”

If the recent rhetoric and the actions of the Maoist party are any indication, it becomes clear that the “party works” remain focused on regaining the seat of power Pushpa Kamal Dahal was forced to vacate one and a half years ago.

After the three abortive trips earlier, Prachanda this time flew to Kuala Lumpur following a series of “positive” meetings with two of his bête noire -- president Ram Baran Yadav and prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Yadav’s action over the army chief row was instrumental in Prachanda’s exit from Baluwatar where Madhav stepped in to replace him.

In his meeting with Madhav, Prachanda agreed to be “flexible” to resolve the vexing Maoist combatants’ integration and management issue.

The meeting with Yadav over dinner was aimed at regaining the trust of the president who is being allegedly readied to take another drastic action to end the long-running political stalemate.

Prachanda has since then withdrawn from the prime ministerial race in parliament and has shown a surprisingly accommodating position on the combatants’ issue.

Insiders say, what he is trying to achieve is winning the hearts and the minds of key actors for a comeback to Singh Durbar central secretariat. 

Confident that he had done it at home he flew out to gain it across the border.

It is not clear yet whom did he meet in the Malaysian capital and what mandate his guest there had.

What is, instead, becoming clear is that his Kuala Lumpur mission proved to be no different from London, Hong Kong and Singapore.