Internal Feud Erupts in CPN-UML Following Disappointing Election Results

The CPN-UML, which suffered a humiliating defeat in the House of Representatives elections held on Falgun 21, is currently witnessing a series of accusations and counter-accusations among top leaders and cadres regarding the election results.

The UML secured a total of only 25 seats, including both first-past-the-post and proportional representation, in the 275-member House of Representatives. Expressing dissatisfaction with this outcome, UML leaders and cadres have questioned the party structure, leadership, and working style, putting forward the concept of 'resetting' the structure.

The establishment faction is now defending the leadership against those demanding a 'reset' of the leadership and structure. Top leaders themselves have become active on social media, attacking each other over the party's defeat. In this context, accusations and counter-accusations have escalated to a personal level between UML General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel and Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai.

Besides General Secretary Pokhrel and Deputy General Secretary Bhattarai, former Vice Chairman Surendra Pandey, former Deputy General Secretary Pradeep Gyawali, and leaders Gokul Baskota and Sher Bahadur Tamang are also engaged in jibes over the leadership's working style and the election results.

Amidst this, UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli is mourning the loss of his father. Despite his grief, a Secretariat meeting held at Oli's residence in Gundu on Saturday decided on the list of proportional representation lawmakers.

'The meeting on Saturday only decided on the names of the proportional representation lawmakers; there was no election review,' Deputy General Secretary Lekhraj Bhatta told RatoPati. 'Further discussion will take place after the Chairman comes out of mourning.'

Shankar and Yogesh's Exchange

While internal election reviews are ongoing among UML leaders, General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel has responded to Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai. Pokhrel refuted Bhattarai's statement implying that the General Secretary did not assign him responsibilities during the election. In an interview given by Deputy General Secretary Bhattarai after the election results were published, he stated that he had asked for responsibilities from the General Secretary but was not given any.

General Secretary Pokhrel claimed that the assertion that he did not give responsibilities to Bhattarai was false and refuted it. 'It seems there was a discussion on social media that Yogesh ji asked for responsibilities from the General Secretary during the election but did not receive them,' General Secretary Pokhrel wrote on Facebook, targeting Deputy General Secretary Bhattarai, 'However, I did not see any mention anywhere of my request for him to go to places where he was requested as a speaker as much as possible.'

General Secretary Pokhrel asserted that he had requested Bhattarai to visit Dang if time permitted. Pokhrel claimed that Bhattarai did not go to Dang, stating he had to go to Taplejung. While he took this naturally, he expressed surprise at the news being circulated in Yogesh's name.

Pokhrel clarified his statement so as not to cause confusion, suggesting that only an incomplete part of Yogesh's statement might have been circulated. Immediately after this post, Deputy General Secretary Bhattarai wrote another status on social media on Sunday, accusing top party leaders of engaging in hateful expressions and spreading false information against him.

Deputy General Secretary Bhattarai also warned that making negative comments and hateful expressions towards each other is inappropriate while the Chairman is in mourning for his father. 'Our party's Chairman, respected KP Sharma Oli, is in mourning for his father. For that reason, he did not chair the Party Secretariat meeting,' Bhattarai said.

The UML Secretariat meeting on Saturday was chaired by Vice Chairman Ram Bahadur Thapa. 'This is a time of grief for all of us. At such a time, negative comments and hateful expressions towards each other are inappropriate,' Deputy General Secretary Bhattarai said, 'During this period, baseless accusations, hateful expressions, and the dissemination of false information against me and other comrades are being made by leaders at the upper level of the party.'

Bhattarai stated that fake Facebook accounts are active in spreading hateful expressions against leaders, and emphasized that saving the party's unity, transforming the party multi-dimensionally, and regaining lost public trust are the primary responsibilities for all CPN-UML members.

'For this, it is necessary to discuss and debate with facts and logic through appropriate methods and established processes at the appropriate time,' Bhattarai reiterated regarding the election results, 'I say again, let's not self-flagellate, but conduct a thorough self-review.'

Pandey Says - Threats of Action for Speaking the Truth

Amidst the comments and debates on social media among UML leaders and cadres regarding the election defeat, victory, shortcomings, and weaknesses, former Vice Chairman Surendra Pandey stated that threats of action are being issued for speaking the truth.

Pandey is among the leaders who have emphasized the need to 'reset' the party structure since the CPN-UML's Gen-Z movement. After the election results, Pandey reiterated that the party has reached a serious juncture, making it clear that concluding 'everything was fine, and we were framed' at such a critical juncture is self-deception.

'When the public has delivered a harsh verdict of rejection through the ballot box, how wise is it to threaten action against one's own cadres for speaking the truth? After such a huge moral defeat, how much moral ground does the leadership have left to take action against others?' Pandey questioned on social media, 'The time has come to reset the entire structure and working style of the UML.'

Pandey argues that while sabotage could cause a vote difference of 5-10 thousand votes, interpreting the observed difference of 40-50 thousand votes as being 'framed' is an insult to the public's intelligence. 'This is not a conspiracy; it is a message that the public has completely rejected the current operational method and stubbornness of the UML,' Pandey said. 'If we do not dare to change our ways now and remain stuck in the thought that others will fail and it will be our turn again, it will be fatal for both the party and the country.'

Clash Between Gokul and Sher Bahadur

Accusations and counter-accusations have also surfaced between two former ministers and Central Committee members, Sher Bahadur Tamang and Gokul Baskota, regarding the election results and the leadership's working style. At an event in Kathmandu on Friday, leader Tamang commented that a comprehensive review of the election results was necessary, and leaders who could not even save their own constituencies should not try to escape by blaming Chairman KP Sharma Oli.

Targeting Tamang's comment, leader Baskota expressed anger on social media on Saturday morning, accusing Tamang of publicly attacking him. 'I didn't want to say it, but because I kept my vote, Sher Bahadur Tamang ji has publicly attacked me as if he were clearing my mustard field,' former minister Baskota wrote. 'I am not an extreme opportunist like you who changes factions just to secure a position for oneself and one's spouse, and who does not hesitate to split the party multiple times. Let's look at the history since 038 BS!'

However, Baskota did not explicitly reveal what Tamang said against him. There was speculation within the UML that Baskota was not given a ticket in Kavre-2 for the Falgun 21 elections because he criticized Chairman Oli.

Confusion and Despair in UML Ranks: Gyawali

Former Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali has also joined the fray of accusations and counter-accusations among UML leaders over the election results. Gyawali commented that given the confusion and despair emerging in the UML ranks following the election results, such reactions amidst adverse results should not be viewed as abnormal.

'The setback we suffered is among the most serious in history. We participated in the election under very difficult circumstances,' Gyawali said. 'We knew the times were unfavorable. But we did not anticipate such a shock. Again, I must say—we have reached the most difficult point in history.'

Gyawali also stated that there were internal and external reasons for such results. 'Some of those could have been addressed or corrected in time. Others were beyond control, beyond the balance of power, and things we could not even anticipate,' Gyawali said on social media. 'Some might be policy issues. There are structural questions. There are stylistic reasons. Some are created due to the roles of the leadership and individuals. All of these must be objectively, deeply, and ruthlessly reviewed. It will be.'

Gyawali believes that only such a review will provide guidance to move forward from this difficult time. 'If a review is not done, if it is said 'this is how it is,' or if only others are blamed, the crisis will deepen further,' he said. 'But in a broader sense, this is a crisis not just for the communist movement, but for the entire democratic movement.'

Gyawali clarified that he believes the election results should be analyzed in the broader and wider context of the movement. 'We must accept—we failed to establish the truth we wanted to establish. Currently, the majority of voters have validated what we called falsehood and illusion,' Gyawali said. 'We failed to communicate with the new generation; we failed to establish trust. It will take time for this to be tested, for the fog of illusion to clear, and for the truth to be established.'

He emphasized that patience alone will not suffice now, and sustained, arduous efforts must be made to establish the truth.

Bishnu Rijal's Three Arguments and One Fact

UML Central Committee member Bishnu Rijal admitted that the recently concluded election proved wrong the three arguments he had been advocating, writing, and lobbying for within the party and publicly. Rijal wrote on social media, 'One fact cuts through thousands of arguments. The recent election has proven wrong the three arguments I have been advocating, writing, and lobbying for within the party and publicly.'

He accepted that just as the development of language modifies the rules of grammar, changes in circumstances modify arguments. He stated that his argument that no single party would secure a majority under the current mixed electoral system, the second argument that the formation of a new party in Nepal is not possible, and the argument that populism does not work in Nepal were all proven wrong.

'The situation arising from Balen Shah winning the Kathmandu mayoralty in 079 BS and Ravi Lamichhane securing 20 seats in parliament within six months of forming his party was over-generalized,' leader Rijal said. 'We were trained/trained that both these youths are mere products of populism, like soap bubbles that will disappear. Attention was not paid to the political ground they stood on, the socio-economic psychology, or the geopolitical shifts.'

Furthermore, he stated that the belief that Nepali society is politically mature and does not follow cheap things was relied upon too heavily, and the public has proven this belief wrong.