CPN UML Secretariat Meeting Experiences Heated Debate Over Leadership

Kathmandu. The atmosphere of the CPN UML secretariat meeting held on Friday was very different compared to other days. 11 agendas were presented for discussion in the meeting held at the residence of Chairman KP Sharma Oli in Gundu. However, some secretariat members expressed the opinion that these agendas were not sufficient. After hearing such opinions from the secretariat members, Oli started speaking. He briefed about the Janji movement, elections, and the party's situation. Then the vice-chairmen were given a chance to speak. After Oli, Vice-Chairman Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal discussed national and international politics and raised the issue within the party. He stated that domestic and foreign powers were involved in the party's poor defeat in the elections. 'We and our party are still facing attacks from all sides. Domestic and foreign reactionary forces are also involved in this. Because of this, our party was defeated in the last election,' Badal said, and Chairman Oli supported his statement, saying that the party's official stance should also be the same. However, Vice-Chairmen Bishnu Poudel and Prithvi Subba Gurung countered, saying that Badal's explanation and analysis alone were not the reason for the party's defeat.

After the argument between the chairman and three vice-chairmen, there was silence in the meeting for a while. 'After the argument and heated exchange between the chairman and vice-chairmen, there was silence in the meeting for a while,' a secretariat member said about the atmosphere of the meeting throughout the day, 'Such a scene and atmosphere have not been seen in a UML meeting until today.' According to him, the faces of most of the leaders looked angry throughout the meeting, and their body language also seemed rigid. 'To such an extent that one leader had to speak when another leader spoke,' said the leader, 'Chairman Oli had to intervene and stop the arguments between the leaders.'

In Friday's meeting, out of the five vice-chairmen of UML, four vice-chairmen, except Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal, openly supported the demand for Oli's resignation, making the situation even more unexpected. According to those leaders, Oli and Vice-Chairman Badal did not like the suggestion given by the vice-chairmen to Oli to pave the way. 'The opinion of the four vice-chairmen was that if the party is to be saved from the crisis, the leadership must take responsibility for the damage and pave the way,' said the leader, 'But this was not acceptable to the chairman.' This led to a situation of banter and argument in the meeting.

In the elections held in February, UML was limited to 25 seats, with 9 seats in the direct election and 16 in the proportional representation. However, voices have been rising that Chairman Oli should take responsibility for this situation and resign from the party. With the conclusion that UML cannot be run by Chairman Oli, some leaders and cadres have already launched a signature campaign, stating that party restructuring and leadership change are necessary. Understanding this sentiment, UML leaders have urged Oli to pave the way, but Oli does not seem ready to accept it. Instead, some leaders say that he is trying to quell the opposition against him by opening up Vidya Bhandari's membership, sensing that even Bishnu Poudel and Shankar Pokharel, who were previously on his side, are now standing in opposition.