Senior CPN-UML Leaders Navigate Election Season Amid Lack of Formal Assignments

Kathmandu. Former Vice Chairman of CPN-UML, Surendra Pandey, returned to Kathmandu on Monday after spending a week in Chitwan. Pandey is not a candidate in this election, but he visited Chitwan to assess the situation in the constituency where he previously contested. Pandey has not been assigned or designated by the party for any election activities in Chitwan or any other area.

He states that he went to Chitwan on his own initiative to understand the local situation and has now returned. "The party has not told me that I must go to any area or district for election activities; I went to Chitwan myself to gather information about the election activities in my home district," Pandey said. He informed Ratopati that during his week-long stay in Chitwan, he visited all three constituencies in the district and held informal meetings and discussions with UML leaders and cadres.

Pandey mentioned that he plans to visit Chitwan again after Falgun 4 in his own way to interact with candidates and voters. "This is a party I helped build. That's why I was in Chitwan on the day of candidate registration," Pandey said. "Even if the party gives no directive, the candidates are asking me to come."

Pandey, a former Finance Minister, contested for the post of General Secretary against Ishwar Pokharel's panel during the 11th General Convention of CPN-UML held in the first week of Poush.

While CPN-UML candidates are busy campaigning and seeking votes with leaders and cadres across the country amidst the election fervor, some leaders like Pandey, who do not hold party responsibilities but played a significant role in organization expansion, are currently somewhat idle. Leaders such as Yuvraj Gyawali, Astalaxmi Shakya, and Gokul Baskota, among others, are hoping that the party will assign them specific tasks or responsibilities for the election campaign.

Nevertheless, Pandey states that even without a party directive, since he helped create the party, he will provide whatever support he can. "It would be good if the party directed us, but we ourselves were out building a political party. As we went along, the party grew large," Pandey said. "Even if the party doesn't say anything, I am doing what I can from my end."

Another leader, Yuvraj Gyawali, says he has not been very active in election activities so far. "There is no specific directive from the party yet; we have only been told to work in our respective places. No specific location or task has been assigned. So, I haven't been very active," Gyawali said. "Perhaps the central office will send us somewhere, or the districts and candidates will call, and then we will go." Gyawali expressed hope that the party would issue directives once open campaigning begins.

"It doesn't make sense to run around without responsibility!" Gyawali stated. He mentioned that it would be easier for them to work if the party had a plan and directed the senior leaders to specific districts or constituencies. "It would have been good if such a plan was made, but let's see now," Gyawali added.

Former Vice Chairperson Astalaxmi Shakya shares a similar experience to Gyawali. "We haven't been told to engage in specific ways, nor have we been asked what we are doing," Shakya said. "Rather, I sometimes go when friends from my former constituency, Kathmandu Constituency No. 8, call me. We do what we can; people like us don't feel right just waiting for party directives." She stated that even without a formal responsibility in the party, as a party member, she cannot remain silent.

"Even without responsibility, one cannot remain silent," Shakya remarked. She believes that mobilizing experienced and senior members would only benefit the party. "The Chairman and General Secretary are themselves in the electoral arena. Perhaps that is why," Shakya commented. She mentioned that even without a party directive, local leaders and cadres from areas like Nagarjun, Tokha, and Kirtipur have requested her presence in election activities.

Gyawali and Shakya had previously announced that they would not contest for executive posts or parliamentary elections but would continue to work as party members. Similarly, former lawmaker and active politician Gokul Baskota says that, like other leaders, the party has not told him whether to go anywhere or not for the elections.

"I went to Kavre on the day of candidate registration, and then I went when the candidate from Makwanpur called me," Baskota said. "I plan to go somewhere after Falgun 4." Baskota was reluctant to comment much on whether the party had given him any responsibility regarding the elections. Baskota was elected from his home constituency, Kavre 2, in the previous election. However, this time, the UML gave the ticket for the constituency he contested from to Ashok Kumar Byanju, the current Mayor of Dhulikhel Municipality. With Byanju leaving his mayoral post to contest in the constituency Baskota won, there is significant interest both within and outside the UML regarding the outcome in Kavre 2.

• Ignoring Competitors?

Following Bhadra 23 and 24, there were calls within CPN-UML for leadership transition and generational change. Accordingly, at the 11th General Convention held in Poush, KP Sharma Oli and Ishwar Pokharel contested for the convention with separate panels. However, only Gokul Bista as Vice Chairman and Yogesh Bhattarai as Deputy General Secretary were elected from Pokharel's panel, while all other office bearers were elected from Oli's faction.

Moreover, Oli distributed tickets in this election to very few leaders who had contested from the opposing group in the General Convention. Chairman Oli had announced in a meeting that he would not give a ticket to Deputy General Secretary Bhattarai in this election. Nevertheless, Bhattarai says he is visiting his home district Taplejung to build an election atmosphere in favor of the party's candidate, Khitij Thebe, upholding political morality.