KATHMANDU, MAY 21 -
With the KP Sharma Oli faction announcing candidacies for key positions
in the CPN-UML, pressure is mounting on the Madhav Kumar Nepal camp to
come up with their candidates for the office bearers in the party’s
ninth General Convention scheduled for the first week of July.
Senior leader Nepal, who enjoys support of a majority of leaders and
considered close to party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal, has the challenge
of maintaining fine balance between picking leaders close to him and
offering respectable share to Khanal loyalists as well.
Ghanshyam Bhusal, a leader close to Nepal, said they are announcing
candidates for key positions within this week. Nepal has tentatively
finalised the name list to be fielded from his panel. He, however, is
in a fix on whether to filed Surendra Pandey or Bhim Rawal for the post
of general secretary.
Party insiders say Nepal is under immense pressure to pick Pandey—core
member of Khanal— for the general secretary to maintain good relations
with the incumbent party chairman, while his confidant Rawal is also
eying for the same post. Leaders close to Khanal are suggesting Nepal
to field Rawal for vice chairman’s position. Rawal, however, is less
interested to vie for the vice chairman’s post as the party’s proposed
statute has a provision of five vice chairmen in the new set up. Rawal
believes the vice chairman’s position will be less powerful in
comparison to general secretary. “I have already contested for the vice
chairman’s post in the eighth General Convention and I lost only with a
slim margin. I prefer to contest for officer bearer’s position,
instead,” said Rawal. Of late, Nepal has made up his mind to field Asta
Laxmi Shakya and Yubaraj Gyawali as vice chairman candidates. Gyawali is
a long time aide to Khanal while Shakya is close to Nepal.
Raghuji Panta from the Nepal camp and Khanal’s supporters Ghanshyam
Bhusal, Gokarna Bista and Prakash Jwala from are being considered for
the post of secretaries. Party sources say Nepal’s dilemma to choose
candidates for officer bearers is a fear that Khanal himself may claim
the party’s leadership. Around 20 central leaders loyal to Khanal are
also campaigning to re-elect incumbent party chairman unanimously in the
context of absence of consensus between Nepal and Oli.
The bonhomie between Khanal and Nepal is also being interpreted as
former’s support in future to the party chairman for the post of head of
the state.
15 names proposed for by-poll candidate
The CPN-UML Valley Coordination Committee has recommended names of 15
prospective candidates for the upcoming Constituent Assembly by-election
for Kathmandu constituency-2.
Among the names recommended to the UML headquarters include party
General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel and Secretary Shankar Pokharel. Both
leaders had lost in the CA election held on 19 November 2013 from Kathmandu -5 and Dang-4, respectively.
The Supreme Court’s proscription against appointment of defeated CA
poll candidates under the Cabinet nomination quota had kept these two
leaders from becoming lawmakers. But one of them still stands a chance
of becoming a parliamentarian, if picked the UML’s candidate for the
by-election set for June 22.
The other recommended candidates are Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Agni
Kharel, Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Sanu Shrestha, Brinda Pandey, Nabaraj
Parajuli, Maniram Phuyal, Rukmini Shrestha, Buddha Ratna Chitrakar,
Subarna Shrestha, Sarita Neupane, Krishna Hari Thapa and Narayan Dhakal.
UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was elected from Kathmandu
-2, had quit the constituency as required by the election law since he
also won from another constituency in his home district Rautahat.
Besides Kathmandu -2, the Election Commission is also holding the CA by-election for Chitwan-4, Bardiya-1 and Kailali-6.
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