FACTBOX: Five facts about Nepal's Maoist PM Prachanda

(Reuters) - Nepal's president has asked Nepal's sacked army chief to stay in his post, a spokesman said on Monday, alleging Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda acted unconstitutionally in sacking the chief a day earlier.

Prachanda fired General Rookmangud Katawal after a tussle over the integration of former rebel fighters into the army. The split threatens to thrust the Himalayan republic into political crisis three years after a landmark peace pact.

Here are five facts about Prachanda.

* Prachanda, 54, is the chief of the former Maoist rebels who waged a decade-long civil war in the jungles of the rugged Himalayan foothills until 2006. Prachanda is his nom-de-guerre, which means "fierce." His real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

* The bespectacled ex-rebel was named Pushpa Kamal, or Lotus Flower, by a teacher, because of his mild manners. During the insurgency in which 13,000 people died, he was rarely seen in combat dress and never took part in fighting.

* He became the republic's first elected prime minister after the rebels laid down arms and surprisingly won the largest number of seats in a 2008 election. While the Maoists entered Nepal's political mainstream, the United States still lists them as a terrorist group.

* Prachanda's revolutionary zeal was reportedly sparked when he first saw a picture of China's communist leader Mao Zedong as a schoolboy. He has dropped much of his Marxist and Maoist rhetoric, and said he wants Nepal to become the "Switzerland of Asia" and draw millions of tourists. He says Nepali Maoists are not "dogmatic communists."

* The former agricultural science teacher is said to be skilled at organization and breeds loyalty and discipline among his followers. However, critics say he is self-centered and willing to dump even his closest colleagues.

Source: Reuters

(Compiled by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Matthias Williams and Gillian Murdoch)