UML top 3 likely to go for the gold
KATHMANDU, DEC 10 -
Top three leaders of the CPN- UML are in for a good rough-and-tumble if the party lands the presidential berth as part of a new power-sharing deal with the Nepali Congress.
Though insiders say party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal are top contenders for the post, Nepal and another influential leader, KP Sharma Oli, are in no mood to take up the job. While Khanal is a bit positive on the matter, Nepal and Oli are eyeing the party’s general convention scheduled for February next year. According to leaders, Oli believes that in the convention, he will be in a better position to compete with Khanal in the party chairman’s race if Nepal is made the head of state.
On the other hand, Nepal too, has his eyes set on the chairman’s post, while he has also not given up hopes of becoming the prime minister for the second time.
That the Oli faction is looking to send Nepal to the top position and is itself interested in the party chairman’s post is evident in the way its leaders have been projecting Nepal of late.
“Madhav Nepal is the right candidate for the president’s post. He is a man who has a statesman’s qualities,” a leader close to Oli told the Post. In recent months, Khanal, Nepal and party Vice-chairman Bam Dev Gautam have secretly joined hands by singling Oli out.
Leaders in the Khanal faction, meanwhile, say the chairman should be given the opportunity to become the head of state for his contribution in improving the party’s strength in the recent election and in the constitution writing process in the former CA.
“The chairman should be given the freedom to choose any option he thinks is best for him,” said a leader close to the party chairman.
Sources close to Khanal said the chairman is indeed interested in the presidential post, while he plans to take it up by ensuring that Nepal is made the party chief through the general convention.
He also plans to divide the parliamentary responsibilities among Oli and Gautam. Both Khanal and Nepal have already taken up the prime minister’s post and they have also led the party in various capacities. Immediately after the death of charismatic leader Madan Bhandari in 1993, Nepal was appointed the party’s General Secretary. He then led the UML for 15 years until he suffered a humiliating defeat in the first CA election in 2008 and he stepped down as the party chief. Nepal lost the election in Rautahat and Kathmandu constituencies. A majority of the top UML leaders, including Oli, had lost the 2008 election.
This time around, except for General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel and Secretary Shankar Pokharel, all the top leaders won seats in the election held on November 19.
Leaders say the number of lawmakers from the three factions in the party will also be a determining factor when it comes to the party’s power dynamics. In the first-past-the-post electoral system, lawmakers from the Oli faction have won the most number of seats.
Top three leaders of the CPN- UML are in for a good rough-and-tumble if the party lands the presidential berth as part of a new power-sharing deal with the Nepali Congress.
Though insiders say party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal are top contenders for the post, Nepal and another influential leader, KP Sharma Oli, are in no mood to take up the job. While Khanal is a bit positive on the matter, Nepal and Oli are eyeing the party’s general convention scheduled for February next year. According to leaders, Oli believes that in the convention, he will be in a better position to compete with Khanal in the party chairman’s race if Nepal is made the head of state.
On the other hand, Nepal too, has his eyes set on the chairman’s post, while he has also not given up hopes of becoming the prime minister for the second time.
That the Oli faction is looking to send Nepal to the top position and is itself interested in the party chairman’s post is evident in the way its leaders have been projecting Nepal of late.
“Madhav Nepal is the right candidate for the president’s post. He is a man who has a statesman’s qualities,” a leader close to Oli told the Post. In recent months, Khanal, Nepal and party Vice-chairman Bam Dev Gautam have secretly joined hands by singling Oli out.
Leaders in the Khanal faction, meanwhile, say the chairman should be given the opportunity to become the head of state for his contribution in improving the party’s strength in the recent election and in the constitution writing process in the former CA.
“The chairman should be given the freedom to choose any option he thinks is best for him,” said a leader close to the party chairman.
Sources close to Khanal said the chairman is indeed interested in the presidential post, while he plans to take it up by ensuring that Nepal is made the party chief through the general convention.
He also plans to divide the parliamentary responsibilities among Oli and Gautam. Both Khanal and Nepal have already taken up the prime minister’s post and they have also led the party in various capacities. Immediately after the death of charismatic leader Madan Bhandari in 1993, Nepal was appointed the party’s General Secretary. He then led the UML for 15 years until he suffered a humiliating defeat in the first CA election in 2008 and he stepped down as the party chief. Nepal lost the election in Rautahat and Kathmandu constituencies. A majority of the top UML leaders, including Oli, had lost the 2008 election.
This time around, except for General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel and Secretary Shankar Pokharel, all the top leaders won seats in the election held on November 19.
Leaders say the number of lawmakers from the three factions in the party will also be a determining factor when it comes to the party’s power dynamics. In the first-past-the-post electoral system, lawmakers from the Oli faction have won the most number of seats.
0 comments
Write Down Your Responses