Kathmandu, August 13
Two chairpersons of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have held a meeting on Thursday, after nine days, in their bid to end the ongoing stalemate in the party.
Though any concrete outcome of the meeting has not been revealed yet, sources say Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is hopeful of an agreement between the two sides within the next few days. In a television interview last night, Oli had said he would not let the party split at any cost, assuring the problem would be solved in the next five days.
A day after that, he met Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who has been demanding Oli’s resignation from the premiership and party chairmanship, or at least from one between two, to discuss a possible solution. Oli’s confidants Bishnu Paudel and Shakar Pokhrel, and Dahal-loyal Janardan Sharma were also present in the meeting. In between, the two chairmen had also met Jhala Nath Khanal, who is supporting Dahal, and Subas Chandra Nembang, an influential pro-Oli leader.
When the party’s standing committee meeting began on June 24, Dahal had demanded Oli’s resignation from the positions of party chair and prime minister, accusing him of failure. Oli, however, has been refusing to give up even one position, leading the party to the months-long stalemate. Following the dispute, the standing committee meeting has been repeatedly postponed without discussing any item of the set agenda.
